Hand’s Aidan Dolin ran for 269 yards and four TDs and threw a 43-yard TD pass to lead the Tigers to the Class M championship on Saturday in New Britain. (Photo courtesy Scott Kerr)
NEW BRITAIN, Dec. 9, 2023 – Senior running back Aidan Dolan ran for a game-high 269 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 1 Daniel Hand to a 57-20 win over Rockville in Saturday’s Class M championship game at Central Connecticut State’s Arute Field.
Dolan exceeded 2,000 yards rushing for the season in the victory and threw his first touchdown pass as the Tigers won the 14th state championship in school history and their first since 2018.
Dolan also completed a 43-yard touchdown pass to Owen Preskar in the fourth quarter, the first of his career. With 57 points, Hand scored the most points in a CIAC championship game, breaking their previous best mark of 54 against Maloney in 2018.
“We recognized that (Rockville) is very explosive,” Hand head coach Erik Becker said. “And we recognize that team won games in the fourth quarter all year long. We knew we had to finish the game as best we could. You saw as soon as we started substituting kids (in our lineup), they went down the field and scored.”
No. 2 Rockville (11-2) won their previous two CIAC tournament games over Berlin and Holy Cross by one point (14-13 in both games) to advance to the championship game.
Dolan had a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter as the Tigers (12-1) broke open the contest. On consecutive offensive plays, he had runs of 66 and 40 yards for Hand. Quarterback Jack Shay also had a pair of touchdown passes in the first half as Hand led 27-7 at the break.
Dolan had two more touchdown runs in the second half along his first career TD pass.
“We were so up for this,” Dolan said. “This was such a combined effort. Everyone did their jobs and it worked out perfectly. The passion we all had for this game, I don’t know how to explain it. We care so much for each other.”
Rockville QB Brady Ramsdell completed 17-of-33 passes for 178 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Carson Morgan. Amir Knighton led the Rams, who were seeking their first state title since 1990, with 100 yards and a touchdown.
Hand’s 57 points was the sixth most points scored in a CIAC state championship game. The record is 70 by St. Joseph in a 70-18 win over Berlin in 2018.
Hand 57, Rockville 20
At New Britain
Rockville (11-2) 0 7 6 0 7 — 20
Hand (12-1) 0 27 14 0 16 — 57
Second quarter
H: Aidan Dolan 66 run (John Healy kick), 7:57
H: Dolan 40 run (Healy kick), 6:45
H: Tyler Narracci 4 pass from Jack Shay (pass fails), 4:48
H: Quinton O’Dea 14 pass from Shay (Healy kick), 2:49
R: Carson Morgan 18 pass from Brady Ramsdell (Molly Wilson kick), 0:58
Third quarter
H: Paul Calandrelli 14 run (Healy kick), 9:13
R: Morgan 32 pass from Ramsdell (kick failed), 5:57
H: Dolan 7 run (Healy kick), 1:29
Fourth quarter
H: Dolan 10 run (kick wide), 9:47
H: Owen Preskar 43 pass from Dolan (Healy kick), 7:41
H: Healy 28 FG, 5:34
R: Amir Knighton 13 run (Wilson kick), 2:26
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Rockville – Brady Ramsdell 4-21, Amir Knighton 22-100, Carson Morgan 1-minus 4; Hand – Jack Shay 1-0, Gavin Wagner 2-25, Aidan Dolan 31-269, Owen Preskar 1-minus 2, Paul Calandrelli 2-16
PASSING: Rockville – Brady Ramsdell 17-33-0, 178; Hand – Jack Shay 11-19-0, 129, Aidan Dolan 1-1-0, 43; Paul Calandrelli 0-1-0, 0
RECEIVING: Rockville – Cole Wilson 5-21, Lexington Hunter 1-17, Amir Knighton 5-59, Mason Russell 1-1, Carson Morgan 4-80; Hand – Gavin Wagner 1-2, Quinton O’Dea 3-68, Aidan Dolan 1-5, Tyler Namrracci 3-28, Owen Preskar 3-68, Samuel Markovitz 1-1
North Haven blanked Wilton, 21-0, to win their second straight Class MM title Saturday.
Class MM
North Haven 21, Wilton 0
NEW BRITAIN, Dec. 9, 2023 – Two big defensive plays in the fourth quarter put the No. 5 Nighthawks (11-2) in control of the contest as North Haven won their second straight Class MM championship with a 21-0 win over No. 3 Wilton at Arute Field.
Leading by seven, North Haven’s Carmen Thompson intercepted Wilton quarterback Francis Hagerty on the Wilton 38-yard line. Two plays later, North Haven was facing a third down and one play on the Warrior 29-yard line.
North Haven QB Joey Mastroianni fired a 29-yard pass to Ryan Bernardo just over the outstretched hand of a Wilton defender to give the Nighthawks a 14-0 lead with 11:18 remaining in the game. It was the only pass that the Nighthawks threw in the game.
On Wilton’s next possession, North Haven’s Michael Moran sacked Hagerty on the 29-yard line and stripped the ball loose to enable his twin brother, Brian, to scoop up the ball and run the fumble into the end zone for a commanding 21-0 lead with 10:03 left in the fourth quarter.
“Our goal every year is to strive and be the best team we can be and try to have the best performance we can,” North Haven head coach Anthony Sagnella said. “Today, I think we did that on the biggest stage and you can’t do better than that. Everyone played their ‘A’ game.”
Added Thompson, “When we play together, we’re at our best and our best is tough to stop.”
North Haven took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter on a 23-yard run around the left side by Adam Pandolfi with 8:37. Eric Vetrano kicked the extra point.
Wilton (10-3), looking for their first state championship win since 1985, drove to the North Haven 21-yard line in the final minute of the second quarter.
But North Haven’s Brendan Ryan tackled Hagerty for a one-yard loss on first down and Michael Moran sacked Hagerty for a six-yard loss on second down. After a three-yard gain on third down, Hagerty’s fourth down pass to the end zone was incomplete.
“They kept their focus and their drive and we’re unbelievable,” Sagnella said.
North Haven 21, Wilton 0
At New Britain
North Haven (11-2) 0 7 0 14 – 21
Wilton (10-3) 0 0 0 0 — 0
Second quarter
NH: Adam Pandolfi 23 run (Eric Vetrano kick), 8:37
Fourth quarter
NH: Ryan Bernardo 29 pass from Joey Mastroianni (Vetrano kick), 11:18
NH: Brian Moran 26 fumble recovery (Vetrano kick), 10:03
Individual statistics
RUSHING: North Haven – Carmen Thompson 10-45, Joey Mastroianni 6-6, Trysten Das 8-31, Adam Pandolfi 13-59, Chris Cretella; Wilton – Francis Hagerty 17-77, Charles Calabrese 1-minus 2, Todd Woodring 5-33, Peter Reyes 5-17, Nicholas Stevenson 1-minus 3, Dennis Dustin 1-minus 2
PASSING: North Haven – Joey Mastroianni 1-1-0, 29; Wilton – Francis Hagerty 12-25-1, 93
RECEIVING: North Haven – Ryan Bernardo 1-29; Wilton – Ryan Smith 3-14, Nicholas Stevenson 2-22, Peter Reyes 1-minus 1, Jason Costa 2-17, Luke Umphred 3-33, Cael Dexter 1-19
