Overtime with Ken Morse

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Ken Morse
Ken Morse

Mo’s Moments of the Week

Instant offense

Woodland’s All-NVL forward Jess Rodrigues has led the girls soccer team in scoring the past two seasons. This year Rodrigues has shown it’s all about the team. But when the Hawks need some instant offense they need to look no further than their senior playmaker. Rodrigues scored two goals and added two assists in a 7-0 win over Torrington last Friday.

Diving in the deep end

Having a well-rounded swim team is being able to score points in every event. Woodland’s senior diver Lisa Thrasher has been about as consistent as you can get winning her eighth straight diving competition against Kennedy on Monday. She has a season-high score of 202.50 against St. Paul this season.

Down in front

One of the hardest plays on the volleyball court is the block at the net. It’s also one of the most effective as it can change an opponent’s approach in the front row. Naugy’s junior front row player Olivia Rotatori turned in a head-shaking performance with 14 blocks to go along with 12 kills in a 3-0 sweep over St. Paul Oct. 15.

Living up to the namesake

Teams that have swimmers consistently winning two events are fortunate, but few and far between. The Greyhounds have assembled a team that has a couple of swimmers who can reach that performance level. Junior Addison Best is living up to that potential as she captured first place in the 200 and 500 freestyle for the third time this season in a win over Torrington Oct. 16. She is also the anchor swimmer in the 400 freestyle relay team that was victorious, as well.

Guts and Glory

There are tough players. There are players who are gutsy and gritty. And then there is Woodland’s libero Cameron Caswell. You can hear about it, you can talk about it, you can read about it, but nothing can quite compare to seeing it firsthand. When Caswell steps in front of blinding blast coming over the net, as she did many times Tuesday night versus Seymour, it gives a whole new meaning to the word fearless.

Word from the Woods

Boys Soccer

The Hawks at 8-5 on the year have put themselves in a position to get noticed in the NVL. They dropped back to games last week versus Oxford (3-0) Oct. 15 and NVL frontrunner Crosby (4-1) Oct. 16. Jack LaPerriere scored the only goal against Crosby on an assist from Zach Powanda. A.J. Oliveira made 12 saves in the net after stopping eight shots in the Oxford game. The Hawks bounced back on Tuesday with a 1-0 win over Ansonia. Anthony Barreira scored the only goal on an assist from Powanda. Woodland is back in action on Friday at Kennedy and will be at Derby on Monday. The Hawks conclude the regular season Oct. 28 when they host Seymour.

Cross Country

The Woodland boys (14-1) and girls (12-2) will race in the NVL championship meet Wednesday.

Football

The Hawks (3-2) had a bye last week. Woodland will face Sacred Heart Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Municipal Stadium.

Naugy Notes

Boys soccer

The Greyhounds dropped back-to-back games versus Joel Barlow (3-0) Oct. 12 and Crosby (2-1) Oct. 14 for their first losses of the year. Naugatuck responded with a 3-0 win Oct. 16 over Holy Cross. Alex Ribeiro, Candido Carrelo and Pedro DeSouza scored goals with Andrew Carroll lending two assists and Rabbi Ahmed recording the shutout with six saves in the net. On Tuesday, Naugatuck improved to 8-2-3 with a 3-0 win over Wilby. Felipe Dutra, Andrew Carroll and Gabriel Carrelo scored goals with Zach Alves recording the shutout in the net with two saves. Naugy is play Wolcott Thursday. The ‘Hounds will host Ansonia on Oct. 26 and conclude the regular season Oct. 28 at Sacred Heart.

Cross Country

The Naugatuck boys (14-0) and girls (8-6) will race in the NVL championship meet Wednesday.

Football

The Greyhounds (2-3) had a bye last week. Naugatuck was scheduled to play Crosby Thursday, after press time.

Volleyball

The Greyhounds picked up three more wins to improve to 12-5 on the season. Naugy bested St. Paul, 3-0, Oct. 15. Olivia Rotatori had 12 kills and 14 blocks. Alexa Blazas led the offense with 21 points and 17 assists. Sam Morin added two service points and two aces. Naugy beat Kennedy, 3-0, Oct. 16. Kathryn Healy led the way with 14 points with Nicole Healy adding six points and Kelly Murphy adding six assists. On Tuesday, Naugy scored its third straight sweep in a 3-0 win over Holy Cross. Ally Mezzo led the way with eight kills and eight digs. Jenna Massicotte added six points and five digs and Taylor Hyde had three kills and two blocks. Naugatuck will play Woodland on Wednesday and Crosby on Thursday. The Greyhounds conclude the regular season Oct. 28 at home versus Wolcott.