North Haven Runs Its Way To First State Football Championship

EAST HARTFORD, CT — Three touchdowns and a safety in a 10:32 span of the second half broke open a deadlocked game and propelled North Haven to its first state football championship, as the Nighthawks defeated Killingly 51-34 in the Class MM title game at Rentschler Field.

The teams entered intermission tied 21-21, but a 6-yard touchdown run by Adam Pandolfi with 6:17 remaining in the third quarter put North Haven ahead to stay. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Pandolfi scored again on a 19-yard run to provide the Nighthawks a 35-21 lead.

Less than a minute later, a penalty and a bad snap left Killingly with a 2nd-and-40 situation at their own 1-yard line. Quarterback Thomas Dreibholz was then called for intentional grounding in the end zone, giving North Haven a 2-point safety and possession of the ball after a Killingly free kick.

Jeff Karavas completed the 23-point run for the Nighthawks on an 8-yard scoring rush with 7:45 to play.

North Haven broke out to an early 14-point lead on a 14-yard touchdown run by Brian Lastomirsky and a 6-yard scoring jaunt by Karavas in the first quarter. Killingly tied the score on a touchdown pass to Noah Colangelo and a 5-yard run by Keith Perry, but North Haven reclaimed the lead on a 30-yard scoring run by Lastomirsky with 2:37 left before halftime.

Killingly tied it again on a 7-yard reception by Perry just 18 seconds before intermission, setting the stage for North Haven's second-half scoring burst.

The Nighthawks attempted just one pass during the contest, relying instead on a punishing ground game that produced 474 yards. Karavas gained 157 yards on 19 carries, Pandolfi had 99 yards on 11 rushes, and Lastomirsky picked up 84 yards on six carries.

The fifth-seeded Nighthawks had appeared in just one state title contest prior to Saturday, losing the Class L championship game to New Canaan in 2015.