North Branford kept its unbeaten streak alive with a 38-27 win over Rockville on Friday night at Colafati Field, powered by Jack Sigel’s three rushing touchdowns and a sack on defense. The victory pushes the Thunderbirds to 5-0 for the first time since 2012, a milestone head coach Anthony Salvati described as “a huge win for us, for our program, for our guys.”
Rockville struck first as Luca Houle connected with Keith Schmidt on a 34-yard touchdown pass. North Branford quickly answered with a drive energised by Sigel and quarterback Matteo Anderson, capped by Anderson’s 20-yard run into the end zone. “The mindset was just to punch it in when we can,” Anderson said. “We're tough, we're very versatile and we have a lot of two-way players. All it took was a couple broken tackles and that was it.”
Sigel took over on the next possession, breaking free for a 31-yard touchdown run. A blocked punt by Billy Criscuolo set up Sigel’s second touchdown, a 10-yard sprint that pushed North Branford to a 21-6 lead. “On offense, we were moving the ball all game, and that's all we had to do,” Sigel said. “We punched it in when we needed to. We pretty much scored at will.”
Rockville fought back with a 64-yard touchdown pass from Houle to Schmidt and then tied the score early in the second half after recovering an onside kick. Victor Hernandez Jr. ran in a touchdown and completed a two-point conversion, giving the Rams a 27-21 lead. Salvati acknowledged that moment rattled the Thunderbirds. “I saw the momentum change and I saw our guys kind of pull back a little bit, but they dealt with the adversity, they fought back, they got the momentum back, and they turned it around.”
North Branford wasted no time regaining control. On the very first play following Rockville’s score, Anderson exploded for a 60-yard touchdown run, putting the Thunderbirds back ahead at 28-21. Rockville answered again with a 21-yard touchdown reception by Hernandez Jr., cutting the lead to 28-27. Sigel then delivered his third touchdown of the night on a 14-yard run, restoring a comfortable 35-27 advantage.
The fourth quarter saw the North Branford defense hold firm, forcing a fumble and an interception by Dylan Yarnall during two critical Rockville drives. Kicker Owen Brustman sealed the victory with a 26-yard field goal, extending the lead to 38-27.
Sigel, who played both running back and outside linebacker, was named player of the game for his three touchdowns and defensive sack. “We had a nice punt block that set us up for a nice score. Special teams played great. We had a fake punt, kickoff did great. It was a good team win all the way around,” Salvati said. “Big field goal at the end to ice it, so fantastic game all the way around.”
With North Branford’s offense clicking and a defense rising to the occasion, Sigel expressed confidence about the team’s prospects. “I see us going all the way into December,” he said.
The Thunderbirds improve to 5-0, while Rockville falls to 2-2.
According to Yahoo Sports.
