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Receiver Daniel Thomas makes one of his 10 catches for 116 yards in the game.
It’s been seven years since the Branford football team started their season with two consecutive victories. The year was 2009 when the Hornets began with three straight wins defeating North Haven, Platt Tech, and Hillhouse to open the season.
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Running back Dalton Carden picks up yardage. He had 42 yards on 14 carries.
On Friday the Hornets won their second game in a row to open the season, a come-from-behind 15 – 14 win over the Guilford Indians on the road. “We hung in there,” said coach John Limone. “We didn’t give up, we persevered. It was a great win for us.”
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Out for the coin flip are co-captains (from left) Noah Lordan (4), Griffin Lynch (7), Spencer Berty (28) and Jay Dering (15).
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Quarterback Griffin Lynch threw for 217 yards in the game.
Branford scored first on a five-yard pass from Griffin Lynch to Danny Thomas at 4:17 of the first quarter to go up 7 – 0. Guilford scored two minutes later to tie the game and didn’t score again until 11:52 of the fourth quarter to take the lead.
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Thomas scored the first touchdown for Branford on a short five-yard pass.
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Here Neil Clyne celebrates his fumble recovery. He was involved in 12 tackles in the game.
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Dan Thomas scores on a 25-yard pass with 2:49 left in the game to make the score 14-13.
With time running out in the game, Lynch led the Hornets down the field and hit junior Danny Thomas on a 25-yard pass play with 2:49 left, to make it 14 – 13.
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Co-captain Noah Lordan scored on a two-point conversion for a 15-14 Branford win.
They followed that up with a two-point conversion on a pass from Lynch to fullback Noah Lordan for a 15 – 14 one-point lead that became the final score. “We were going for it (the win) all the way,” said coach Limone. “We were confident we could make the two-point conversion and we did.”
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Cash seals the victory.
Guilford made an effort to score again driving up field before junior Zach Cash {pictured) intercepted an Aaron Korik pass intended for Parker Landsbach to seal the victory.
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Here Jake McPartland pulls down Guilford’s A.J. Moscato by the shirt.
Lynch was 17 for 29 for 217 yards and two touchdowns in the game for the Hornets. He had two interceptions.
His primary target was Dan Thomas who had 10 receptions for 116 yards. Thomas scored both touchdowns for the Hornets on passes from Lynch of 5 and 25 yards.
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Also playing well for Branford was junior Dalton Carden who rushed 14 times for 42 yards and senior Brian Nichols who caught four passes for 73 yards.
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The crowd cheered on. Scores of Branford students attended the game at Guilford to root for their team.
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Coach John Limone tells the team he’s proud of them for their great effort and for not giving up.
The Hornets will be tested on Saturday night at 5 p.m. when they play the Shelton Gaels, a top 10 team. The game has been moved to Guilford because the home field at the high school is still under repair and won’t be ready until Oct. 1.
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