Football Rolls Over Poly Prep; Early Fall Round-Up

The 2017 fall season is underway, and there is plenty of buzz about the Hornets thus far.

        The Football team has looked extremely solid in their first two contests. Despite having lost standouts such as Justice Antrum, Corey Millhouse, Cam Kranich, and Melvin Wells, Coach Linta and the team are not rebuilding; they are reloading! After cruising past Capitol Prep of Bridgeport 44-26 last week, the Hornets faced off against Poly Prep of Brooklyn, NY under the Skiff St. lights on Friday evening. Hamden Hall has not played Poly for decades; they had once been an opponent as part of the NY Ivy League. However, Poly outgrew the league to become a dominant prep school force in the region for years. Though they have dropped a notch or two, they still represented a serious early challenge for the Hornets in their quest to extend their record unbeaten run and repeat as champions.
        It took just one play from scrimmage for the Hornets to establish their dominance, with quarterback Nick Bailey hitting Mike Gulia for a 55 yard TD strike. Tre Breland, who just recently joined the squad as a kicker, wideout, and defensive back, made good on the point after attempt; he would notch 5 PATs and make a leaping interception on the evening. Next, Bailey scrambled out of the pocket to heave a 52 yard TD to Luke Schoonmaker. The junior QB was all poise when he then followed up with a 45 yard scoring pass, this time to senior David Spitz . The visiting Blue Devils did not crumble under the barrage, however, and went deep themselves to bring the score to 20-7 at the end of the first quarter. But Bailey countered with two drives and punched the ball in himself to extend the lead to 33-7 at the half. The two sides traded scores as the second half unfolded, including another Spitz TD pass, this time from Schoonmaker, who took a spell behind center.
        Toward the end, the crowd went wild on two electric plays that illustrated the impressive power and ruthless speed of the Hornet attack. First, on a kickoff return, the Hornets pulled some razzle-dazzle ball exchange on the run that completely fooled both the opponents as well as the fans, with Spitz dashing some 85 yards for his third TD. Then, just after the Hornets had been pushed back deep from a questionable offensive interference call, Luke Schoonmake demonstrated why the University of Michigan has recruited him, as he broke through the line and shifted into another gear en route to an 85 yard TD run of his own to finish the scoring at 52-27.
        Almost lost in the 657 total offensive yards was the superb work on both sides of the ball by the guys on the line. Billy Porto, Michael Johnson, AJ Repollet, and Michael Polansky, to name a few, were relentless. New junior Klyde Auba led the team with 10 tackles.
        The Hornets play their first Fairchester League contest when they face off against Rye Country Day. The game is away at 12:00 next Sunday because of no school on the religious holiday in the middle of the week.

        The Field Hockey squad is making plenty of noise of their own in the early stages of the season, as coach Emily Anderson has got the Hornets buzzing. They beat the St. Luke's Storm soundly 5-1 last week. On Wednesday they cruised past local rival Cheshire Academy 3-1, with senior Amanda Carroll, sophomore Molly Anderson, and junior Karis Curtis tallying the goals. On Saturday, the girls made a road trip to Rhode Island to play the Lincoln School, but came up just short in a 5-4 loss. The JV held the hosts to a 0-0 stalemate. After a recent rebuilding phase, the Hornets now enjoy solid contributions from a good number of experienced veterans such as Justyna Breuler, Maisa DellaValle, Kayleigh Giles, Cassie Delfini, and Alex Johnson. The team face another away trip, this time to Springfield, Mass. to play Wilbraham & Monson Academy next Saturday.

        Though neither soccer team has notched a win yet, they have both shown promise in their early games. The Girls Soccer is led by outstanding senior goalkeeper Miranda Iannone, who is off to play at Cornell next fall. Most of the rest of the defense also returns, including Eve Brannin, Gia and Danielle DiRuba, and Gabi Cervone. With the addition of Abby Malin, they have proven to be a resilient bunch in their first two contests. Lexi Cornacchia, who has dropped back to help the midfield, Adell Vann, May Cervone, and 8th grader Ellie Moffat form the core of the offense.  Last Saturday, they had the unenviable task of opening up at crosstown rival Hopkins. While the defense held strong, the Hornets managed to sneak one in off a scramble to take a 1-0 lead at halftime. However, the Hilltoppers eventually wore down the Hornets and also benefited from a few key mistakes to come out on top 3-1. On Wednesday, the girls hosted Rye Country Day, a squad they had lost to for five consecutive years. The game saw flashes of brilliance from both sides, with the Hornets getting perhaps the better chances. However, the two defenses refused to budge, resulting in a 0-0 draw. Though not a victory, new head coach Chuck Salvi appeared quite proud of the exhausting effort.

        Boys Soccer look to improve over last year, and have a nucleus of seniors that are working hard.  Senior Trevor Baer has proven himself to be brave netminder with quick reflexes. Other seniors like Ethan Springhorn, Kyle Horton, and Martin Pastor ramp up the energy on the field. Josh Torello and Max Sinoway, along with junior Joe Lucci and sophomore Timmy Neumeister, patrol the defense. The team does not quite have an identity yet; however, the influx of talented freshmen such as Johar Varma, Liam Kohler, Joe Tenedine, and Spencer McCleary, along with returning sophomomre Chase Lilly, give coach Doug Cunningham's team a chance to develop into a more cohesive unit. The boys dropped their opener 5-2 to Master's School before battling Christian Heritage to a 0-0 draw. On Saturday, the boys showed some flashes, but were dominated by Hopkins in a 4-0 loss.

        Volleyball is currently 1-2, having defeated Wooster 3-1, but falling to Holy Child and St. Luke's by a 3-0 margin in both contests. Cross Country ran well but came up short at Chase Collegiate. Details on both programs and further updates will be forthcoming.