Sports blog: Warrior Nation
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Boys 8th Grade

The Wilton 8th grade boys team, sponsored by The Bender Financial Group, played two very tough opponents last weekend on their home court.

On Saturday, looking to avenge an early season loss, Wilton was fired up and defeated New Canaan Black 76-65 in its best game of the season. Led offensively by Eric Houska (19 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals), Griffin Bender (17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists) and Jack Armstrong (14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), this was truly a team effort with a balanced attack throughout. Justin Shepard (8 points, 5 assists), Zack Laurinaitis (8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist), Dylan Hines (5 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal), Ned Culnane (4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) and Colby Monachino (1 point, 1 rebound, 1 assist) rounded out the victory with everyone making an impact. The defense from the opening tip was tenacious, allowing New Canaan only 7 points in the first quarter to Wilton's 15 and withstanding a second quarter comeback to maintain a 33-29 halftime lead. Three pointers by Houska (2), Shepard (1) and Laurinaitis (1) were key in staving off New Canaan's aggressive game plan. Continued Wilton offensive and defensive pressure resulted in a 57-49 third quarter lead and the very satisfying victory. Shawn Brosko and Brett Phillips were unavailable to play. Sunday's game versus Danbury PAL Panthers resulted in a 63-35 loss. The play was quite different from Saturday's gem. Although the scoring was balanced, Wilton couldn't muster enough offense. Strong defense in the first half kept the game in check but Danbury pulled away in the third and never looked back.

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Boys 6th Grade

Wilton 45, Darien YMCA 40 -- The 6th grade boys, sponsored by Cindy Watkins - Coldwell Banker, put together an impressive performance on Sunday against a team that had beaten them soundly at their last meeting in early December. The Warriors were hot from 3 point range, with Johnny Watkins (2 x 3, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal), Patrick Prinner (2 x 3, 3 rebounds, 1 steal) and Michael Brown (1 x 3, 6 total points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal) fielding passes and taking their shots over the outstretched arms of Darien defenders. Wilton's passing game frustrated the Blue Wave, opening up several inside opportunities for Niko Kaplan (4 points, 5 rebounds) and Johnny Maudsley (4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals). Their defensive effort was equally impressive, with relentless pursuit of the ball by Quinn Reedy (4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals) and Luke Bingaman (2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal) throughout the game. The Warrior big men - James Maloney (6 points including 2 for 2 from the foul line, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block), Grey Livingstone (4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) and Nick Derrico (2 points, 4 rebounds) - dominated the boards on offense and defense, stopping an all out Darien attack in the game's final minutes.

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Girls 5th Grade

St. Mary's of Ridgefield 21, Wilton 14 -- The Wilton fifth grade girls, sponsored by Dr. Gregory Sanford, played a solid game but, unfortunately, could not keep up with top-ranked St. Mary's. Marissa Pucci played very well on both offense and defense and scored 5 points. Caylin Cannavino hustled throughout the game playing strong defensively and scored 4 points. Nina Mellin had a great game and scored 4 points for the team. Hayley Meyer kept the ball moving and scored 1 point. Ellie Armstrong and Elizabeth Healy both handled the ball with confidence in the point guard position with several key passes. Margaret Smith kept St. Mary's away from the hoop with aggressive defense. Ally DiSanto and MacKenzie Holmgren both had great steals and worked hard against St. Mary's powerful offense.

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Boys 5th Grade

The Wilton 5th grade boys, sponsored by Pinocchio Pizza, won a thrilling game over visiting Newton on Saturday, 42-34. This was the second meeting of these teams this year with Wilton also winning the first game in overtime. Wilton lead only for the final 2:15 of the contest. The Warriors were paced by the powerful presence of Jack Williams 19 points and 7 rebounds. Drew Connolly lead the team with 4 assists in addition to 7 points. Big contributors on the boards were Billy Black with 6 rebounds and Max Wiseman with 3 rebounds. Jack Wood's 3 steals coupled with Andrew West's 2 steals helped keep Wilton close in the first half. Liam Rance's steady hands assisted the second half surge. Kieran McGovern scored 12 points in the final 4 minutes including 8 for 8 from the free throw line which helped secure the win. The Warriors moved to 16-3 for the season and 8-1 in the league.

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Boys 4th Grade

Last Saturday the Wilton 4th Grade Future Warriors basketball team, sponsored by Pain and Spine Specialists of CT, LLC, had a comfortable win against the visiting team from Shelton. The Warriors took a quick lead and held it throughout the game ending with a final score of 53 - 39. Leading scorers for Wilton were Scott Cunningham (1 rebound) with 13 points and Kyle Maatallah (3 rebounds, 4 steals) with 11. Additional scoring came from Matt Olson (9 rebounds, 3 steals) and Robbie Hermann (6 rebounds, 3 steals) who each got 8 points followed closely by Zach Zeyher (team-high 13 rebounds, 2 steals) who picked up 7 points. Rounding up the scoring for Wilton were Brennan Troy (2 rebounds, 4 steals), Brendan Quinlan (6 rebounds) and Tommy Garvey (6 rebounds, 3 steals) with 2 points a piece. Zach Liston helped to keep the ball in the Warrior's possession by grabbing 4 steals.

Last Sunday the Future Warriors took a second chance at the Panthers from Pleasantville where Wilton showed that they wouldn't let the Panthers outperform once again. The Warriors dominated from the beginning and didn't let up at all and grabbed the win with a final score of 45 - 36. Once again Cunningham (1 rebound, 1 steal) led the scoring with 18 points with Maatallah (2 rebounds, 1 steal) adding 13 points to the scoreboard. Additional scoring was had by Olson (team-high 13 rebounds, 3 steals) with 6 points and Nolan Quinn (2 rebounds, 3 steals) with 4. Rounding up the scoring for Wilton were Kyle Shifrin (8 rebounds) and Hermann (4 rebounds, team-high 5 steals) with 2 points each. Liam Gany picked up a rebound and a steal to help out his Warrior teammates.

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Girls 7th Grade

The Wilton 7th grade girls, sponsored by Bear Paw Builders, came away from a busy weekend of basketball with two wins and a loss.

The first game of the three was against a very competitive New Milford team. It was a nail biter to the end, but the Wilton girls were up for the challenge. Haley English led the offensive front with 10 points followed closely by Erica Meyer with 8, Hannah Maatallah with 6 and Anna Pucci with 5. Cori Cannavino chipped win with 4 points and 6 rebounds and Makenna Pearsall added another 3 points. Strong defense helped keep Wilton in the game with 11 team steals led by Hannah Maatallah with 5 and Haley English and Casey Tucker with 2 a piece. The final score was 37 - 35.

Game two of the weekend against Trumbull was equally challenging. A strong effort by Erin Cunningham led the team's offense with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Erica Meyer added 7 points and a show stopping 20 rebounds while Makenna Pearsall snagged 6 rebounds of her own. Haley English contributed 5 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals while Hannah Maatallah chipped in with 4 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Cori Cannavino, Sara Dickinson and Anna Pucci each added a bucket. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to clinch the win and Wilton came away disappointed with the loss and a final score of 33-32.

The weekend ended on a positive note with a league win against Newtown to earn the Wilton girls an undefeated record in league play of 8-0. Erin Cunningham led the way with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Casey Tucker had her jumpshot working sinking two outside shots and adding 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Haley English contributed 6 points and 3 steals and Hannah Maatallah had 4 points and 3 steals. Erica Meyer continued to crash the boards and pulled down 7 rebounds while Cori Cannavino added 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Wilton also benefited from play by Sara Dickinson contributing 3 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals and Anna Pucci added 4 points and 4 rebounds. Makenna Pearsall sealed the deal witih 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. The final score was 35-14.

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Girls 6th Grade

The Wilton 6th Grade Girls Team, sponsored by Lloyd's of America, split their games over the weekend winning the opener on Saturday against New Fairfield 26 to 14 and dropping the Sunday game to Monroe 26 to 23. The Sunday game saw fierce defense by Maddie Duffy(8 rebs, 3 steals and a foul shot), Taylor Ingerman(2 rebs and 3 steals) and Zoe Lamason(2 rebs and 4 steals). Great front court work was handed in by Claire Graham(1 reb and 2 steals), Caroline Casey(1 steal) and Leigh Culnane(2 rebs and 1 steal) but as the half wound down the Warriors were down 10 to 9. The second half opened and Karen Brosko(10 pts, 1 reb and 2 steals) poured on the offensive pressure along with Christina Holmgren(6pts, 4 rebs and 4 steals) and Sarah Fitzgerald(5 pts, 7 rebs and 5 steals) as the girls brought the deficit to a point at 24 to 23 with 2 minutes to go. In spite of a heroic defensive effort by Rachel Gordon(1 pt and 9 rebounds) though as the clock wore down the girls came up short by 3.

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Girls 8th Grade

After a sluggish first half, The Wilton 8th Grade Girls Travel Team, sponsored by the Moore Center, ground to a convincing 29-16 victory over Danbury PAL in a home game on February 20th.

Shannon Quinlan, playing her strongest game of the season, led Wilton with 14 rebounds and 8 points (4 steals, 2 assists). Lizette Roman Johnston played her typically strong game under the basket and contributed 8 points and 8 rebounds (3 steals, 1 block). Annie Cornbrooks added to the team effort with 3 steals and 2 points (2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 tooth). Kylie Cafiero continued to rebound aggressively from her guard position picking 5 boards while stealing 3 balls (1 assist, 1 point). Natalie Smith added 4 rebounds (1 steal) and Kimmy Holmgren continued her strong rebounding with 5 boards. Cara Hoetzl scored 4 points (2 rebounds, 1 block) and Emily Alonso also scored 4 points (3 rebounds, 2 steals). Victoria DePilato added 2 assists (1 block, 1 rebound) while Anna Rendell-Baker contributed 2 points (1 rebound, 1 steal).

On Sunday, Wilton traveled to New Fairfield and faced a tough 'Rebels' team that defeated Wilton 40-20. The New Fairfield squad had a tenacious, swarming style of defense that routinely stripped the ball and thwarted Wilton's passing game. Wilton never gave up but could not close the 20-point deficit that they trailed by at half-time.

Anna Rendell-Baker (3 rebounds, 2 steals) and Emily Alonso (1 rebound, 4 steals) scored 6 points each while Shannon Quinlan (4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals) and Victoria Dipilato (4 rebounds, 2 steals) both scored 4 points.

Cara Hoelzl grabbed a team-leading 8 rebounds (2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocked shots) and Annie Cornbrooks led the team in steals with 5 (2 assists, 1 rebound). Lizette Roman-Johnston (4 rebounds, 1 steal) and Natalie Smith (2 rebounds, 2 steals) each had one assist offensively while Kimmy Holmgren (3 rebounds, 2 steals) and Kylie Cafiero (1 rebound, 1 steal) played strong defensively.

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Boys 7th Grade

Wilton 7 Blue regular season league champs had their hands full with Brookfield and a few too many turnovers in a hard-fought game. After a low scoring 1st quarter, shooting quickly picked up with 'hot-hand Curtis' sinking a couple trademark 3 pointers (and 1 steal), eventually tieing scoring honors with 'swing-man' Michael Lynch. Both led with 8pts as dual high scorers. Protecting the net, at the other end of the court, big man Walker Schneider, the 'swat-master' cleaned house with 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3pts and 1 steal, followed by 'fast-hands' Miles Elmasry (6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 pts and 1 steal). Both controlled the boards and led a tough defense. Even though Brookfield continued scoring on Wilton's turnovers, 'Playmaker' Jake Johns (2 assists, 2 steals, 2 pts and 1 block) kept setting up his guards.

The second half favored Wilton, as aggressive play picked up with Michael Bingaman (4pts, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) and Danny Weisman (2 pts, 2 assists) kept Brookfield on their toes. Tyler Brophy added fuel to Wilton's firepower, taking it to the hoop with 2pts, 2 assists and 1 steal. Ryan Kettle 'put it to the metal' with 5 rebounds, 1 block and 1 assist coming on strong in Q3 and Q4. Not to be outdone though, Harry Sabo the 'box-out artist' had 2 blocks, 2 pts, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Down the stretch, Michael Lynch finished with a beautiful, solo, inside cut, trying to close the Q4 gap but to no avail. Despite sharing game high shooting honors (8 pts with Ryan Curtis), Lynch finished an all around, 'everything stat' (1 assist, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 block, 8 pts). In the end though, with time running out, Wilton tried to catch their foe but couldn't quite close the gap, dropping the game 34-38.

The Wilton 7 Blue 'runaway train' barreled their way to a classic win against nearby rival Darien on Sunday . The train left the station right from opening tip-off, with Wilton jumping to a 23-3 lead. Leading scorer Tyler Brophy (14 pts, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound) was on fire, dropping 3 pointers all over the place - some after his own steal and full court run. Buoyed by his partner in crime, Ryan Curtis had a beautiful coast-to-coast drive in the second quarter and also finished strongly with an all-around balanced performance (9 pts, 1 rebound, 1assist, 1 steal and 1 block). Harry Sabo fueled the momentum with power drives to the basket and great cuts inside the key to finish with a strong 8 pts and inspiring play (3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist), ensuring his teammates stayed pumped up. Similarly, Ryan Kettle's hot hand and 3-point 'daggers' (8pts and 1 steal) kept the Wilton locomotive smoothly charging ahead. Michael Lynch couldn't be stopped from making plays and feeding his teammates, finishing with a game-high 7 assists - dubbed in this satisfying win as the 'assist-ster'. His steal in the first quarter and solo breakaway to the hoop for 2 of his 4 points, sparked the team early on and they never looked back. Jake John's artistry on the court, as the 'man with the plan', drove 2 pts, 3 steals, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. Even though Darien stormed back in the third quarter and closed a 20+ pt gap to within 8 pts, the two twin towers of Elmasry and Walker created a Darien train wreck under the boards. Defensive monster of the game, Miles Elmasry, had a game high 6 rebounds, 6 steals, and 1 block. His strong drive to the hoop and inside play also contributed 3 assists and 2 pts. Walker Schneider, even with early foul trouble, helped cement the defensive wall with 4 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 pts for his usual excellent play. Both were fearsome. Closing the deal were Danny Weisman (2pts, 2 assists and 1 steal) and Michael Bingaman (1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 outstanding 'stuff' block. Their finesse and fine play punctuated the 'end-of -the-line' for Wilton's terrific win, 51-39.

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