Tigers explode in second half against Spartans

A tough Southern Connecticut Conference opponent, Hand of Madison, proved to be too much for Amity in their first road game of the season. The Spartans fell 44 - 13 to the Tigers on Saturday October 2 at the Surf Club.

Hand used a balanced offensive attack (run to set up the pass) in the second half to take control of the game and defeat  Amity.

Hand Senior quarterback Kyle Miller took control and led the offense in the second half. He was pleased with the second half results in which he ran for a touchdown and also completed a touchdown pass  (second of the game) to wide receiver Nicolas Vitale. After the extra point was converted by Ryan Bell, Hand took a commanding  34-13 lead.

"When the line can block and set screens all the way down field it helps," Miller said. "Amity kept with us in the first half and was able to contain the run.  The tipped ball touchdown was big for them. We knew we had to come out fired up in the second half and we did."

Miller added, "Kevin  (Frey, of Hand) was somewhat contained on the run in the first half. He was able to break it open in the second half.  The running game (effectiveness) allowed me to escape and throw the ball down the field and this helped us run more effectively later (in the second half)."

Amity Head Coach Bert Mozealous prepared his team for the Hand offense.

"The worst part about the game is that we knew what the Hand offense would try to do," Mozealous said. "Their offense is not a secret. We didn't tackle and that made us have a long night. These problems are being corrected but we're facing better competition each week.  It's my belief that in the first half if we tackled Hand would not have scored a couple of touchdowns."

Amity tied the game in the first quarter at seven as senior captain Kyle Kalanta busted up the middle for a 45-yard touchdown with 4:11 left to play in the first period on a fourth -and one- play to knot the game at seven, but Amity would never take the lead. Senior placekicker Gregory Debarba converted the point.

"Kalanta had a real nice run," Mozealous  said. "He does not stop and always keeps his legs going. He is a silent leader for our team. He does not yell but comes out and works real hard all the time. We have talked about him playing at the next level. This year he has been asked to block a lot because we are playing two back sets instead of one like last year. We ask a lot of him and he does't give up. He plays defense as well as carrying the ball 25 to 30 times a game on offense."

After running back Frey of Hand scored and the two point conversion failed, Hand took a 13-7 lead. Frey would then score a 5 yard touchdown run with 3:54 in the second quarter to give Hand a 19-7 lead. The two point attempt failed.  Frey scored twice in the first half and once in the second half.

The last time Amity got on the board was a ball that was thrown by junior quarterback Tyler Vallie that was tipped by the Hand defense and grabbed for a 37-yard touchdown by  Spartan junior (wide receiver/defensive back) Codey Ellison.  Senior wide receiver Hunter Ricks had an eight yard reception to obtain the first down before the big pass play occurred. The point after attempt was blocked and Amity would close to 19-13 but would get no closer. Ellison also played well defensively as he picked off a pass to stall a Hand drive in the first quarter.

"Ellison had a nice interception and a touchdown pass on a deflection, " Mozealous said. "He has gotten better each week. He's done a nice job for us."

Hand scored 25 unanswered points in the second half to secure the victory and improve their record to 3-0. Amity fell to 1-2 on the season.

"In the second half depth showed," Mozealous said. "Hand played very few guys both ways (offense and defense) and they were fresh. We played more guys in the (second half) and they were very young and inexperienced and it showed. "

Xavier of Middletown, the top team in the state of Connecticut, won on the road at Cheshire 9-6 on Friday October 1^st. Amity hosts Xavier at home in Woodbridge next Friday October 8  in a challenging contest.

"Xavier is extremely talented defensively," Mozealous said. "Defensively they do the simple things extremely well. We will work hard all week and continue to get ready to play them. This team will not give up. They are way past that."