WINDSOR – To define the North Haven football team, gritty needs to be first in line. On a rainy afternoon in Windsor, the Nighthawks showed what they are all about.
Behind 151 yards rushing and one touchdown from Adam Pandolfi, and two touchdowns from Joey Mastroianni, the fifth-seeded Nighthawks knocked off top-seeded Windsor 21-0 in the Class MM semifinals at Jack O’Brien Stadium at Windsor High School Sunday afternoon.
North Haven will play third-seeded Wilton, a 35-10 winner over second-seeded Masuk, in the Class MM championship game at Arute Field on the campus of Central Connecticut State University Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
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North Haven is looking to repeat as Class MM state champion after defeating Killingly in last year’s final.
“That’s who we are,” North Haven coach Anthony Sagnella said after his team improved to 10-2. “I say it all the time. We don’t have an identity crisis in our locker room. They know who they are. Our kids believe in what they do. Our schedule battle-tested us.”
Not to be lost in the shuffle of the semifinal victory is the North Haven defense. North Haven intercepted three Windsor passes and recovered another fumble by the Warriors. Windsor never got going offensively, gaining just 125 yards in the contest.
“I am not going to make any excuses,” Windsor coach Rob Fleeting said after his team fell to 10-2. “It just seemed we were always starting behind. Our defense adjusted, but it just seemed we were on the field too long. They do a great job of ball control and running the offense. They played better than we did today.”
Windsor was looking to return to the championship game for the second time in three years, falling in the 2021 Class L final to Maloney.
North Haven had something to say about that, particularly in the second half when the Nighthawks held Windsor to 78 yards of offense and controlled the clock with a bruising ground game.
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The Nighthawks scored on the opening possession of the second half, using six plays to move 50 yards, and capped with a 33-yard touchdown run by Mastroianni on fourth down for a 14-0 advantage. Mastroianni finished with 90 yards rushing.
While the Nighthawks did not score again until the final 36 seconds when Mastroianni plunged in from 1-yard out for a 21-0 lead, North Haven held Windsor to just two full possessions in the final 24 minutes.
“I think it is just blocking, being able to block, and consistency,” Pandolfi said of the offense. “It is tough to stop, but it is also tough to run if you are not hard-nosed and gritty.”
Windsor’s best chance to score in the second half came on the opening possession, but the 12-play, 69-yard drive stalled when the Nighthawks made a fourth down stop on the 1-yard line with just over three minutes to go in the third.
“They were on today,” Sagnella said of his defense.
North Haven then held the ball until just over five minutes remained in the game, using 17 plays before being stopped on fourth down at the Windsor 13. By that time, Windsor had only five minutes remaining, but was stopped on four plays, setting up Mastroianni’s touchdown to ice the contest.
“I am proud of my kids,” Fleeting said. “I thought my kids played hard. We missed capitalizing on a lot more plays than we could have.”
The first half saw five combined interceptions, including three by the North Haven defense. The Nighthawks frustrated the Warriors in the opening half, limiting Windsor to just 47 total yards and intercepting sophomore quarterback Anthony Robinson three times.
While the North Haven defense was doing its part, the offense gained 161 yards in the opening 24 minutes, including its lone touchdown of the half with a 7-play, 96-yard scoring drive on its first possession of the game.
“You have to credit our kids for preparing,” Sanella said. “The playoffs are tough. It is a short week every week. They prepared well. They were laser-focused and came up here and executed. It is not an easy thing to do. We were 0-for-2 before today. This is a tough place to win.”
After the Warriors pinned the Nighthawks at the four following a punt, the Nighthawks ran the ball seven times, including two by Pandolfi for 75 yards. Pandolfi’s second run was 31 yards and a touchdown around the left edge with 4:50 gone by in the opening quarter.
“It was huge,” Pandolfi said of the game’s opening drive. “Windsor is a great team. They have great players. We knew getting out to a hot start, the opposite of last week, would be key for us. That’s what we did.”
That was it for the scoring in the opening half as each defense came up big. The Warriors also came up big as Cashmire Lewis stopped a North Haven drive with an interception at the five-yard line four minutes into the second quarter, before Damion Sparrow prevented another North Haven score with an interception inside the Windsor 10 in the final seconds of the first half.
Player of the Game
Adam Pandolfi - North Haven senior ran for 151 yards and a touchdown, while also coming up with a big first half interception. Pandolfi set the tone with 75 yards rushing on North Haven’s opening drive of the game.
Quotable
“It feels great. It was our goal, going back in and repeating, and hopefully getting that Kelly trophy at Walter Camp. We either play Masuk or Willton. We know they are both great teams, so we are going to have to come ready to play next Saturday.” —Adam Pandolfi
North Haven 21, Windsor 0
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