Neider leads Law past Branford

FRIDAY LAW 46 BRANFORD 21

MILFORD — The Law football team keeps churning out the points at a breakneck pace no team has been able to keep up with, let alone stop.

Quarterback John Neider threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more as Law blew out Branford 46-21 Friday night at home to remain undefeated

“We’ve been so successful due to the off-season,” Neider said. “This is the easy part. When we come out here, we are handling our business together. It’s not much of a surprise, but we definitely have to handle our business when we are out here.”

Sometimes Neider and company make it look easy, but it is not. To play at the pace the Lawmen (4-0) do takes a lot of practice. But so far, it has worked well — they have scored at least 45 points in each game.

“Ryan Person, our offensive coordinator, does a phenomenal job and our kids work really, really hard,” Law coach Chris Haley said. “A lot of it comes down to having smart kids. You need smart kids to be able to go that fast.”

A significant benefit is having those players just on offense, not going both ways. A number of players for Branford (2-2) play both offense and defense and a number of them were gassed in the second quarter.

“We know we can tire them out and keep that pace going,” Neider said. “We were trying to move (fast enough) where they couldn’t even set up at some points. We just wanted to outpace them for most of the game.”

Neider threw for 153 yards. Two of the touchdowns went to his younger brother Michael and the other to Matt Haggerty. John Neider also rushed for a game-high 175 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.

Branford was called for an offsides penalty seven times

“Neider is such a tremendous player and it all runs through him. Throw the tempo element in, it’s tricky,” Branford coach John Limone said. “It’s a conundrum to decide how you get lined up to try and defend him. He was the (SCC) Tier 3 player of the year for a reason last year.”

Branford had some success moving the ball in the first half. The Hornets got into the red zone on the game’s opening possession and put together a 13-play drive on its second possession.

But the Lawmen were able to stop the Hornets on fourth down both times, then hand it off to the offense for two touchdowns and a 14-0 lead.

Amadeus Betancourt had the run of the night, carrying several Branford defenders into the end zone to complete a 37-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and putting the Lawmen up 27-0 at halftime.

DONE FOR SEASON

Branford running back Nate Chieffo tore a meniscus in his knee in the season opener against Waterford, Chieffo, who rushed for 900 yards and six touchdowns last year to help propel Branford’s trip to the Class M state playoffs, is done for the season, according to Limone.

PLAYER OF THE GAME John Neider, Law: Senior quarterback threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two more — and a game-high 175 yards.

LAW 45, BRANFORD 21

L—Matt Haggerty 8 pass from John Neider (Jesse Viens kick) L—John Neider 3 run (Viens kick) L—Michael Neider 13 pass from John Neider (Viens kick) L—Amadeus Betancourt 37 run (kick failed) B—Nate Florio 3 run (Joe Robinson kick) B—Florio 43 pass from Zach Turbert (Robinson kick) L—John Neider 15 run (Viens kick) L—Michael Neider 30 pass from John Neider (Haggerty run) L—Viens 29 FG B—Florio 74 pass from Turbert (Robinson kick) Records: Branford 2-2; Law 4-0