Football Preview: Shelton Gaels vs. North Haven Nighthawks
Shelton is 6-1 against North Haven since October of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. After each having a week off, both will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 10:00 a.m. North Haven took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Shelton, who comes in off a win.
Shelton is headed into the contest having just posted their closest victory since September 8, 2023 last Friday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 17-14 win over Law.
Logan Sepkaski had an outrageously good game as he threw for 164 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 62 yards on only six carries. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards.
Shelton wouldn't let Law keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force four fumbles. Jack Vargo led the group effort, picking up two of those forced fumbles all by himself. James Zaccagnini has been hot recently, having also posted six or more total tackles the last three times he's played.
Meanwhile, North Haven started off well but failed to capitalize on an early lead against Fairfield Prep. They took a 38-32 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Jesuits. While the Nighthawks didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Jesuits 12-0 in the first quarter.
North Haven's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Joey Mastroianni, who rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns, and Artie Mccormack Iv, who rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries. Mastroianni is becoming a predictor of North Haven's success: when he posts at least 80 rushing yards the team is 4-1 (and 1-3 when he doesn't). Brian Moran got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Shelton's victory ended a five-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-7. As for North Haven, their loss dropped their record down to 5-4.
Shelton was able to grind out a solid win over North Haven when the teams last played back in October of 2023, winning 14-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for Shelton since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
