Staton, defense spark ND-WH to win over Hand

MADISON — Heading to the halfway point of the season, teams are starting to take notice of where they rank in the state tournament brackets.

Entering as the third seed in Class M, Notre Dame senior Jacob Staton made sure the Green Knights remained in the top half of the bracket.

Staton’s two interceptions and two touchdowns helped lead the Green Knights to a 34-7 victory over Hand-Madison in a Southern Connecticut Conference contest at the Surf Club Friday evening.

“We knew coming in here it was going to be a defensive game at first,” Staton said. “Offense, we can get the job done, but defense is where we have been getting it going this year. We did what we had to do. The key was rallying to the ball and a lot of film. Film is what helped us a lot.”

Leading 7-0 thanks to a Staton interception and touchdown run late in the opening half, the Green Knights put the contest away in the second half with 27 points.

Quarterback Matthew Piechota, who threw for 169 yards, avoided a sack and put distance between Notre Dame and the offensively slumping Tigers when his dazzling 20-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the third quarter gave the Green Knights a 14-0 lead.

“We definitely played better on offense in the second half,” Notre Dame coach Joe DeCaprio said after his team won its fourth straight game to improve to 4-1. “By the way, that Hand defense is incredible. They are very, very good. Hand reminds us of us last year. They can beat anyone they play.”

The Notre Dame defense then took over with Staton leading the way. Staton stepped in front of a pass by Hand quarterback Paul Calandrelli and raced 47 yards untouched for a score and a 21-0 lead with 10:35 remaining.

“I think it is the salty taste in our mouth from last year,” Staton said. “Our season was real low last year. It is all about getting payback from now on and keeping our heads high.”

Hand had entered the contest having been shut out the last three games. With the time winding down, it looked as if the Tigers would extend the streak to four games, before Aidan Dolan ran for 21 yards to open the drive and finished Hand’s first scoring drive since opening night with a 4-yard score less than two minutes later.

“We have a ton of guys going both ways which again is tough for us, but we have a really good quarterback and some young talented receivers,” Hand coach Erik Becker said after his team fell to 1-4. “There is some stuff to build on. We are embracing the hard path. We want to play the best. Right now, we are struggling to match up with the teams that are bigger than us.”

The Green Knights sealed the game with two touchdowns in the final 6:26. Jonathan Evans raced in from 47 yards out for a 28-7 lead, before Tyler Koenig capped the scoring with a 27-yard run in the final two minutes.