Naugatuck Honors National Championship Youth Football Team

By Paul Singley, Special to Naugatuck Patch

NAUGATUCK - The community is rallying around a youth football team that brought home a national championship last week.

The Naugatuck Hounds Pop Warner U-12 (12 and younger) football team capped its perfect 13-0 season on Saturday, Nov. 25, with a dramatic 28-27 overtime victory over the Detroit Hurricanes at General Foley Stadium in Worcester, Mass. Since the victory, the pomp and circumstance has flowed in the borough. (Read a full game story from Ken Morse of the Citizen’s News here.)

Community celebrations started immediately as the team entered the borough as Division 3 national champions. As the Hounds’ bus arrived in Naugatuck, the borough’s police and fire departments intercepted it at the Route 8 off-ramp and blasted their vehicle lights and sirens before leading the team on a victory ride through downtown streets. Dozens of locals lined the sides of roads and welcomed the champs home.

“The kids didn’t know this was going to happen,” head coach Mike Yacavone said. “When we picked up the escort, the excitement level on the bus jumped to another level. The escort and the great gathering of fans in town to greet the team was an awesome display of support and will be lifetime memories for both the football players and cheerleaders on the bus.”

The team will be feted once again today at the borough’s second-annual Light the Night Celebration on the Town Green. The event will be held between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. Naugatuck Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess is expected to honor the players and coaches during the ceremony.

Team Captains Mikey Deitelbaum, Ese Onakpoma, Mason Mastropietro and Jacob Marques said they were amazed at the way the community has responded to their championship and grateful for all of the support.

“Last year, we lost in the national championship, so this feels great,” said Deitelbaum, a running back and linebacker who scored two touchdowns in the national championship game. He helped cap the victory, one which the Hounds secured by coming from behind in the second half before Domenic DeSousa kick a field goal in overtime.

“We practiced hard since Aug. 1 with the championship in mind,” Deitelbaum said. “When we got to this game, we knew we needed to play our best and we did.”

Mastropietro, a quarterback and linebacker, held the ball down that DeSousa booted through the uprights - he actually had to kick the ball twice because of an off-sides penalty on Detroit on the first attempts (he made both, by the way). The second attempt counted and set off pandamonium on the Naugatuck sidelines as parents and fans rushed the field to congratulate the players and cheerleaders. (Hundreds of others watched the game on Facebook as parent Ken Stone livestreamed it on Facebook.)

“That was pretty amazing,” Mastropietro said. “I didn’t think I was ever going to feel like that.”

Marques, an offensive and defensive lineman, said the team worked and played hard for two hours nearly every night for four months.

“We were never promised this win, so we knew we had to work for it,” he said. “Our coaches helped us a lot from the start to finish, so this feels great.”

The players on the team are:

Ty Gaffney, Kyle Segetti, Jett Hall, Mikey Deitelbaum, Blake Stone, Dylan Andriulaitis, Mason Mastropietro, Christopher Ferguson, Ali Syed, Ese Onakpoma, D.J. Ottowell, Ezekial Divine, Nathaniel Harris, C.J. Smith, Damien Navarro, Leonardo Oliveira, Dylan Sepulveda, Jacob Scianna, Jacob Caetano, Zachary Posila, Christian Ramos, Nicholas Lauer, Kyle Gardella, Jacob Rescigno, Aidan Leahy, Domenic DeSousa, Daniel Testone, Nathan Gendron, Benjamin Papp, Jacob Marques, Eric Timiraos, Vincent Ferrucci, Elliott Giordano, Sammy Acosta and David Patton.

The coaches are: Mike Yacavone, Dan Griesenauer, Bob Mezzo, Mike Caetano, Dennis Posila, Jay Leahy, Jay Segetti, Mike Mastropietro and Nick Hoelick.

Coach Yacavone spoke with Naugatuck Patch about the season. This is the transcription of the interview.

1. What was your record this season?

8-0 regular season, 13-0 overall.

2. Was this the second straight year you won a state championship?

Yes, we also were D3 12U CT State champs in 2016 and yes we were undefeated in the regular season.

3. What were some of the keys to your success this season?

Our success starts with the players. We had 35 great kids to coach. The players put their egos aside and from day one focused on team first, hard work and preparation for every game. They played with great discipline and grew stronger as a team each week of the season. Secondly, this team had a very dedicated and talented coaching staff that put in countless hours of planning and preparation to get the boys ready to play each week.

4. What are some of the things you are most proud of as you reflect on this win and the season as a whole?

I am so very proud of how our offense was able to rise to the challenge and complete a 70 yard touchdown drive to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. It was truly a clutch performance and the boys’ ability to execute this drive was a direct result of their discipline and the effort and hard work they put into practice all season long.

5. How does it feel to come back to Naugatuck as a national champion?

As we rushed the field in celebration, the first player I saw was Mikey Deitelbaum. Not to embarrass him because he is a leader and one of our toughest players, but he had tears streaming down his face. That display of raw emotion, the culmination of months of practice and hard work resulting in a national championship filled me with great pride for a job well done by all of our players and coaches.

6. Did the police and fire departments give you an escort through town? If so, how do you think that made the kids feel?

Yes, we had the police and fire department escort us into town. The kids did not know this was going to happen. When we picked up the escort, the excitement level on the bus jumped to another level. The escort and the great gathering of fans in town to greet the team was an awesome display of support and will be lifetime memories for both the football players and cheerleaders on the bus.

7. What will you remember most about this season?

I will remember 35 players who worked hard, listened to their coaches and played a hard-nosed brand of football for 13 games. Our 13th game was the toughest and the players and coaches rose to meet the challenge to end a very successful season.

8. Who were the key players and what were some of the key plays to the national championship game?

Nate Gendron recovering the onside kick to start the second half was huge. Mikey Deitelbaum's strong power running all day and two TDs. Damien Navarro running the wedge and scoring two TDs.

Our offensive line played a strong game: Jacob Marques, Aiden Leahy, Elliot Giordano, Ben Papp, Nick Lauer, Syed Ali, Eric Timiraos and Danny Testone.

Ese Onakpoma's 23-yard pass reception on fourth quarter TD drive put us in position to tie the game late. He was well covered on the play and made a spectacular catch. Defense was lead by strong efforts from Ese Onakpoma, Nate Gendron, Mason Mastropietro and Vinny Ferrucci.

Finally, the clutch kicking by Domenic DeSousa. In Kansas City overtime, we had the ball second and scored to make the game 27-26 in favor of Detroit. We elected to kick the extra point for two points and win the game.

Dom made the first attempt, but Detroit was off sides and we had to kick again. The second attempt was also executed to perfection, and Dom kicked the ball straight through the goal posts. It was great execution in a pressure-filled situation. As you know, if we miss we lose. He didn't miss, and we are now (talking) about the 28-27 victory.

9. Is there anything else you want to add?

Our victory over Detroit was the culmination of a great football season for our entire league. Naugatuck Pop Warner's U10 team had a winning season and competed in the playoffs. Our U8 team made it to the state championship game, losing to the eventual U8 national champions in a very competitive game.
Our parents support was outstanding all season long. The support the team received from the Naugatuck community was outstanding at the state, New England and national championship games. Naugy Pride was on display. Go Hounds!

Contributed photo