The Amity Senior Night Football game vs Wilbur Cross scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m. is postponed to Sunday Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. at Amity
The Girls Volleyball game will take place at Amity tonight at 5 p.m.
The CIAC boys and girls soccer tournament games have been postponed to: Saturday Nov. 10 at Ken Strong Stadium, West Haven HS
Boys vs Warde at 5 p.m.
Girls vs Danbury at 7 p.m.
Junior David Ryan (19) was one of the Quarterbacks to fill the void while James Semmonella is on the injured list.
By PHIL BRODSKY
Orange Live Sports Writer
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Heading into Thursday night’s Southern Connecticut Conference Division I clash between Xavier High of Middletown and Amity, the Falcons’ 5-foot 7-inch, 182 pound running back D’ Angelo Berry had 15 touchdowns this fall. By the time the game (which was played at Bill Johnson Field in Woodbridge) was over, the Falcons (currently ranked No. 4 in the state) had soared to a convincing 52-17 victory and Berry had added five more scores top his season total. He now leads the state in scoring with those 20 touchdowns. Berry also picked up 141 yards in 18 carries against the Spartans.
While Xavier (now 5-1) was chewing up Johnson Field for 248 yards and throwing for another 168 yards, Amity was proving to be its own worst enemy. The 2-4 Spartans committed four costly turnovers. Three of those turnovers led directly to points for Xavier.
According to Amity Coach Bert Mozealous, “Our regular quarterback (James Semmonella) was out due to an injury ( concussion) that he suffered last week against West Haven. As a result we had to use two inexperienced guys (junior David Ryan and sophomore Tyler Burns) to replace him. As a result of that inexperience, we made some mistakes and those mistakes cost us points. We had four turnovers that ended up giving Xavier 17 points. We can’t afford to do that against any team, let alone a good team like Xavier.”
The Falcons wasted no time in lighting up the scoreboard. Their first possession of the game was an 11 play-67 yard drive that was climaxed by a Berry’s one-yard plunge into the end zone. I t came with 6 minutes, 7 seconds left in the first period. The highlight of that drive was a 46 yard pass from quarterback Tim Boyle (who has accepted an NCAA Division I full scholarship to Boston College) wide receiver James Sullivan for a first down at the Amity 1-yard line.
Sophomore Tyler Burns (9) runs with the ball.
Two plays after that score, Burns fumbled the snap and the loose ball was recovered by Xavier linebacker, Charlton Ortega at the Spartans’ 8-yard line. Four plays after Ortega’s recovery, Berry shot up the middle for a three-yard touchdown that gave his team a 14-0 lead with 3:31 to go in the opening session. It took only three more plays for another Burns fumble that Xavier fell on at the Spartan 21. With 22 seconds left in the quarter, Andrew Verre booted a 27 yard field goal that extended the visitors’ lead to 17-0.
Things quickly went from bad to worse for Amity in the second quarter. Keyed by Boyle passes of 17 and 18 yards to wide receiver Kris Luster, Xavier covered 70 yards in seven plays. Berry’s 24 yard sprint into the end zone with 8:24 left in the first half gave Xavier a 24-0 advantage.
Burns brought the Spartan fans to their feet as he roared right up the middle for a 75 yard TD on the first play after the Falcon touchdown. That roar was quickly silenced when Ted Duarte’ took the Amity kickoff 55 yards in the opposite direction before he was brought down at the Amity 5-yard line. On the second play from scrimmage after Duarte’s long return, Boyle called his own number and scored on a five yard run at 7:22 that enabled Xavier to open up a 31-7 lead.
After the two teams exchanged interceptions, Amity’s Lyle Luth kicked a 22 yard field goal as time ran out in the first half.
“Even though we were behind, our guys kept working hard throughout the game. I thought our execution was pretty good in the first half. It took a while but our offensive line finally woke up and responded as the game went on,” Mozealous said. “I know Xaiver’s a really good football team. Their QB (Boyle) is a Division 1 recruit but No. 75 (6-2, 269 senior center/defensive end, Max Schurmann) did a great job tonight.”
While the first two quarters were a nightmare for Amity, the third quarter was even worse, as the Falcons tacked on three more scores and blew out to a 52-10 lead.
Three plays into the second half, Berry shredded the Spartan defense for a 78 yard score. Three plays after that TD, Falcon cornerback Vincent Neri intercepted a Ryan pass at midfield and raced it back 48 yards before being rolled out of bounds at the Spartan 2. Shortly thereafter, Berry scored on a one foot dive that upped the tally to 45-10. With 5:44 left in the third quarter, Xavier closed out its’ offensive fireworks display when Boyle and Sullivan teamed up on a 48 yard scoring strike.
The lone score of the final session came with 1:05 left in the game. With Burns at the controls, the Spartans drove 90 yards in 14 plays and finally cashed in on a three-yard run by Burns.
Mozealous said, “When James (Semmonella, the Spartans’ starting signal caller) returns, we can take our time, developing Burns and Ryan. They will get more time as they learn more of our offense. Right now, we’re searching for answers. We need to block, tackle, and execute.”
The ledger book shows Amity picking up nine first downs, 255 yards on the ground and another 70 in the air. Attolino rushed for a team-high 113 yards on 27 carries. The pair of Amity quarterbacks combined to complete four of 10 passes (with one interception) for70 yards. Ben Feola had three grabs for 51 yards.
Xavier racked up 12 first downs, 248 yards on the ground and another168 yards in the air. In addition to Berry’s141 yards and five scores, Boyle completed 10 of his 17 throws.
On Friday night, Amity hosts SCC Division 1 rival, Fairfield Prep, in a 7 p.m. contest at Johnson Field.
Junior David Ryan (19) was one of the Quarterbacks to fill the void while James Semmonella is on the injured list.
Sophomore Tyler Burns (9) runs with the ball.
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Both teams fought hard on Saturday afternoon, but in the end Shelton came out on top defeating Amity 34-28.
Here are some photos from the game.
Amity Quarterback James Semmonella runs the ball against Sheehan Sept. 21.
By PHIL BRODSKY
Orange Live Sports Writer
Sponsored by Stop & Go Transmissions, Bridgeport
Racking up 577 yards of total offense (543 on the ground) and scoring the first three times it had possession of the football, Amity went on to steam roll Sheehan High of Wallingford 58-14 Friday night. The Southern Connecticut Conference inter-divisional game was played at Bill Johnson Field in Woodbridge .
On the very first play of the game, Spartan quarterback James Semmonella pitched the ball to Cory Ricks at the Amity 31-yard line. He quickly scooted around his right side and raced untouched for 69 and his team’s first of 8 touchdowns. It came with only 18 seconds gone in the game.
According to winning Coach Bert Mozealous, “We had practiced that play week and had decided to run it on our first play from scrimmage.”
Trailing 7-0 (after the first of Lyle Luth’s seven conversion kicks), Sheehan (now 1-1) struck right back. Keyed by Sheehan quarterback Jeremy Gannon’s 46 yard screen pass to Raphael Dominngues, the Titans were perched at the Spartan 5. Three plays later, Dominguez cashed in from the 5 and Kyle Paolella added the game-tying PAT.
The deadlock did not last long. Sparked by Dave Attolino’s 28 yard scamper to the Titan 33-yard line (Paolella’s tackle prevented a touchdown). Five plays later, Ricks scored again. This time he found pay dirt on a 15 yard sprint into the end zone. It came at 6:35, gave Amity a 14-7 lead and started a string of 38 unanswered Spartan points.
Two plays after that touchdown, sophomore defensive back Tyler Burns intercepted a Gannon pass at midfield and returned it 11 yards to the Sheehan 37. Six plays later, Attolino’s 5 yard TD at 2:42 extended Amity’s lead to 21-7.
With 7:30 left in the first half, Semmonella called his own number, skirted his right end and raced away on an 82 yard keeper that upped the Spartan ante to 28-7. Later in the same session, Semmonella dove into the end zone from a yard out. With no time left on the clock, Luth closed out the first half with a 36 yard field goal that gave Amity a 38-7 at the break.
During that hectic first half, trhe Amity offense rolled up368 yards. Semmonella led the winners with 163 of those yards and 2 scores. Ricks added 95 additional yards and 2 TD’s.
“We were not happy with how we ran the ball last week (against Hand). We thought we could do a better job. I thought we ran the ball well tonight. When our offensive line comes to play, we know we can move the ball. Our backs ran hard and broke tackles,’ said Mozealous.
Picking up in third quarter right where it left of in the first half, Amity scored on its first 2 possessions. Sheehan drove deep into Spartan territory but that threat was thwarted by Joe Choiniere’s intereception at his own 12. Four plays later, Attolino’s 65 yard jaunt opened a 45-7 lead.
After Sheehan went 3-and-out and punted the ball away. Setting up shop at his own 45-yard line, Semmonella handed the ball to Choinere and he “took it to the house” for a 55 yard touchdown and a 45-7 lead.
Starting a midfield, Gannon picked up 23 yards on his toss to Kyle Lorenzo and a first down at the Amity 27. Three plays later Gannon found Bruce Rutkowski in the end zone and hit him with a 10 yard scoring strike.
Leading 52-14 as the fourth quarter got underway, the Spartans closed out its offensive barrage on Dave Buono’s 36 yard run.
Mozealous added, “We know we are a good team and a hard running team. Everybody knows we are going to run the ball. If you stop us, we’ll run somewhere else. We made some defensive mistakes in the second quarter that we need to clean up and need to improve our communication skills, but we’re getting there. It was a job tonight by the offense. We did what we wanted to do and kept playing hard throughout the game.”
Included in the winners’ 577 yards of total offense, 170 belonged to Semmonella. Attolino accounted for 128 yards and Ricks chipped in with 95 first half yards.
The 1-1 Spartans visit Shelton next Friday for a 7 PM SCC Division I contest at Finn Stadium.
Amity Quarterback James Semmonella runs the ball against Sheehan Sept. 21.
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