MADISON – A showcase between a pair of undefeated Southern Connecticut Conference football teams, with the added touch of horns going off to signal lightning warnings, made for plenty of theater on a rainy Friday night at the Surf Club.
No. 5 Hand got three touchdown passes from Jake Rusher and a pair of Lucca Boyce scoring runs to come away with the 35-14 victory over Lyman Hall and improve to 8-0.
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Defenses on both sides stole the show at times.
A sack by Nathaniel Kessell on Lyman Hall’s second offensive play set the tone for the host Tigers. Two-way starting lineman Brayden Dempsey added a sack on the Trojans’ final drive.
“It was sick. We haven’t been at Strong in about a month so coming back to Strong against a 7-0 team, a great atmosphere. I know it is a rain game but everybody was fired up for this game,” Dempsey said. “It was important to get pressure on the QB today. We thought he was the best player on the team and trying to take him out of the game or try to make him make plays was really essential for us winning today.”
Rusher hit Thomas Cahill for a 23-yard touchdown pass on Hand’s first drive. Thomas Pshybyshefski made a sensational diving catch for a 27-yard TD to give Hand the early 14-0 lead.
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It looked like business as usual for a Hand team that pulled away with ease against some very talented teams, but Lyman Hall showed why it came into the game with an undefeated record.
The Trojans (7-1) forced some punts and went into halftime trailing by only 14. Quarterback Ryan Casey ran it in from 25 yards out on Lyman Hall’s opening drive of the second half to make it a seven-point game.
“It was a tough start but our kids battled,” Lyman Hall coach CJ Monroe said. “When you play a top-10 team in the state, you can’t get off to a slow start and those key plays down in the red zone, you have to make. I am so proud. We keep getting better and better each week. I am excited to see how they finish and very proud of all the players and coaches.”
Lucca Boyce had touchdown runs of 7 and 63 yards and Pshybyshefski added another TD catch for the Tigers, even though the Lyman Hall coaches thought the ball hit the ground before Hand’s sophomore receiver corralled it while on the turf.
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Boyce finished with 113 rushing yards to go over 1,000 for the second season in a row, and he surpassed 3,000 career rushing yards.
“Our team came together,” Boyce said. “It was really a bloodbath. We knew it was going to be a four-quarter battle and I think our team fought well. Our first (defensive) drive was amazing, a lot of the energy and shift of focus was in that first drive and I think our team did a wonderful job.”
Lyman Hall added a second score when Casey connected with Joseph Gierla for a 24-yard touchdown less than four minutes after the teams returned to the field after a 20-minute delay for a lightning warning.
“Our kids stepped up in every phase,” Hand coach Erik Becker said. “We never want to be overcome by events. We don’t control events – Lyman Hall, the weather, the officials. We control the response. Our boys didn’t flinch tonight and they finished.”
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Players of the Game
Lucca Boyce, Hand: Ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns and also had a tackle for loss on defense.
Quotable
“Our team’s resilience to stay in the fight and keep battling was wonderful. We schemed him (Casey) up pretty well. A lot of our scheming was against him and trying to stop him.” – Hand running back Lucca Boyce.
Hand 35, Lyman Hall 14
LYMAN HALL 0 0 7 7-14
HAND 14 0 14 7-35
H-Thomas Cahill 23 pass from Jake Rusher (Ryan Vincent kick)
H-Thomas Pshybyshefski 27 pass from Rusher (Vincent kick)
LH-Ryan Casey 25 run (Christian Rivera kick)
H-Lucca Boyce 7 run (Vincent kick)
H-Pshybyshefski 5 pass from Rusher (Vincent kick)
LH-Joseph Gierla 24 pass from Ryan Casey (Rivera kick)
H-Boyce 63 run (Vincent kick)
Records: Lyman Hall 7-1, Hand 8-0.
This article originally published at No. 5 Hand downs Lyman Hall in battle of unbeatens as Lucca Boyce tops 3,000 career rushing yards.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
