No. 2 Hand ended No. 3 Masuk's 24-game winning streak after this Class L semifinal victory at Ken Strong Stadium in West Haven before an estimated 4,000 fans.

The game was tied at 14 at halftime.

Matt Walsh scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter to give the Tigers (12-0) the lead for good.

Kyle Anderson and Nick Vitale (12 receptions, 148 yards) had touchdown passes from Henry Foye in the fourth quarter for Hand.

Foye completed 23-of-31 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. Kevin Frey ran 27 times for 153 yards and one score for the Tigers.

Casey Cochran completed 35-of-61 passes for 277 yards with one TD and two interceptions for the Panthers (11-1), the No. 2 team in the Register Top 10 Poll. Cochran connected with Jason Pointkowski on an 8-yard TD pass in the first quarter. Colin Markus had a rushing touchdown for Masuk.

WEST HAVEN - Seven different players scored for top-seeded Xavier in this Class LL state semifinal victory over No. 5 Norwalk at Ken Strong Stadium.

The Falcons will face No. 2 Staples in the championship game next weekend. Xavier is the defending champion and has won 25 straight games. Its last loss came to Staples in the 2009 semifinals.

Ryan Murphy ran for a 6-yard touchdown and caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Pat D'Amato for the Falcons (12-0), who led 34-14 at halftime.

Xavier rushed 50 times for 388 yards and six touchdowns. Pat D'Amato led the way with 98 yards on nine carries and one score, DeAngelo Berry added 97 yards on 12 carries and one touchdown and Ryan Jacobucci rushed three times for 51 yards and one score.

Tim Boyle and Mike Mastroianni also scored rushing touchdowns. Boyle also threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Charlton Ortega.

Norwalk (9-2) scored on a 72-yard pass from Delshawn Wilson to Andy St. Fleur, and on a 12-yard interception return by Derek Edwards.

Hand, Masuk set to clash in Class L

Preview capsules with predictions

Follow the action on our Semifinal Scoreboard

Despite a 28-14 loss to Masuk in the Class L state quarterfinals this past Tuesday, North Haven constructed a 17-play, 80-yard drive, capped by Joe Schwab's 1-yard TD run. The drive lasted almost nine minutes. The Indians held the ball for all but 90 seconds in that third quarter.

North Haven then recovered an on-sides kick and later scored to tie the game at 14 before Masuk pulled away and earned the victory.

Now it's Hand's turn to stop the Masuk express. The Panthers have scored a state-best 575 points this season. Both teams enter Saturday's contest unbeaten. Kickoff between the No. 2 seed Hand and No. 3 Masuk is set for 7 p.m. at West Haven's Ken Strong Stadium.

"Our game is like their (Mausk) game," Hand coach Steve Filippone said. "Our game is a balanced attack of short passing mixed in with a few runs."

Both Masuk and Hand operate out of a spread offensive attack, and Filippone expects both teams' offenses to do what they do best, which is passing the ball.

Masuk senior QB Casey Cochran is the best at the position in the state, and he has targets in seniors Jason Piontkowski and Brandon Cusmano and junior Thomas Milone.

Hand counters with senior quarterback Henry Foye and senior receiver Nick Vitale, among other weapons.

"I'd love to say, yes, we're going to do what North Haven did, that we're going to put our hand on the ground and we're going to use our big backs and rip at them and be happy to have a 15-play drive," Filippone said. "That's not going to happen; that's just not the way we play anymore here. We're going to play the way we play.

"No one's going to stop them (Masuk). Are we going to shut out Masuk? If I were a betting man, I would bet the house we're not getting a shut out. If we're fortunate enough to hold them to four touchdowns, we have a shot at winning the game."

Ansonia native Bill Chaplick finished his 12th season as head coach at Milford Academy at 12-0, bringing his career record to 109 wins and 31 losses for a .779 winning percentage.

Local kids receiving scholarships so far include:

Dean Tsopanides (Torrington) - University of Iowa

Montrell Dobbs (Ansonia) - Marshall University

Bobby Kinnebrew (Ansonia) - Stevenson University

Eddie Glenn (North Haven) - University of Akron

Tyler Matakevich (Stratford) - Temple University

Dobbs finished the season with a team-leading 20 touchdowns and 1,366 yards. Dobbs is now the 2nd all-time rushing leader in Milford Academy history, and fell just 88 yards shy of the first place mark.
Kinnebrew tied the all-time sack record held by Antonio Dixon now playing defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles with 13.5 sacks.
Dobbs originally committed to UConn but did not meet the academic requirements to attend.

Masuk Sr. QB Casey Cochran was chosen as the Gatorade State Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

The 6-foot-2, 205- pound Cochran, who is headed to UConn next fall, has led the Panthers to an 11-0 record and a berth in the Class L state semifinals, where the Panthers will face Hand on Saturday at 7 p.m. at West Haven's Ken Strong Stadium.

Cochran has passed for 2,801 yards and 36 TDs through 11 games. In the classroom, Cochran has maintained a 3.92 GPA, won the Masuk High Book Award for Introduction to Engineering and Algebra I and Geometry, and has volunteered at area food banks, as a youth football coach and as a peer tutor.

State Semifinal Schedule

Classs M: Newsome, Ansonia run past Bethel
Class M: NW Catholic holds off North Branford
Class LL: No. 1 Xavier advances
Class L: Masuk pulls away late from North Haven
Class L: Windsor survives against ND
Class L: Hand's defense big in win over Coventry/Windham Tech
Class S: Valley Regional/Old Lyme edges Rocky Hill
Class S: Holy Cross eliminates H-K
Quarterfinal Boxscores

CLASS LL
No. 1 Xavier (11-0) vs. No. 5 Norwalk (9-1) at West Haven, 2 p.m.
No. 2 Staples (10-0) vs. No. 6 Newtown (9-2) at Bunnell, 2 p.m.

CLASS L
No. 1 Windsor (11-0) vs. No. 5 New Canaan (10-1) at East Haven, 2 p.m.
No. 2 Daniel Hand (11-0) vs. No. 3 Masuk (11-0) at West Haven, 7 p.m.

CLASS M
No. 1 Ansonia (11-0) vs. No. 4 Berlin (10-1) at Sheehan, 2 p.m.
No. 7 Wolcott (8-3) vs. N0. 3 Ledyard (10-1) at Middletown, 2 p.m.

CLASS S
No. 8 Cromwell (9-2) vs. No. 5 Northwest Catholic (9-2) at Cheshire, 2 p.m.
No. 2 Holy Cross (10-1) vs. No. 3 Valley Regional/Old Lyme (10-1) at Falcon
Field, Meriden, 2 p.m.

Sophomore Arkeel Newsome rushed 26 times for 291 yards and three touchdowns as top-seeded Ansonia rolled to a Class M state quarterfinal victory over No. 8 Bethel Tuesday at Jarvis Stadium.

Newsome scored on touchdown runs of 4, 87 and 5 yards, all in the first half, for the Chargers (12-0).

Jake LaRovera caught a 10-yard TD pass from Elliot Chudwick and Tyler Lester scored on a 9-yard run for Ansonia, which led 35-0 at halftime.

Brian Birdsell scored on a 9-yard run in the fourth quarter for Bethel (7-4). Birdsell rushed 18 times for 103 yards. Brandon Schmidt added 60 yards on 15 carries for the Wildcats, who turned the ball over three times.

State football quarterfinal games get under way Tuesday.
Below are links to capsules on all 16 games.


Class LL

Class L

Class M

Class S

Xavier, Masuk still 1-2 in latest Top 10 Poll.

Click here to see the complete poll.