Weekly BHS Sports Recap: Boys' Title Defense Ends in Quarterfinals

Football (7-2):

The Bobcats remain fourth in the Class M Point Rankings as they prepare for their final game of the year, where they can clinch a State Playoff berth with a win over rival Bethel (6-3).  The Bobcats are still hopeful that they will not only clinch a berth in the post-season but that they will also earn a home game in the first round.  Brookfield could still make the playoffs with a loss but they would need help from other teams losing.

The team is coming off their impressive  against Bunnell (6-3) and is looking to enact revenge over a Wildcat team that beat them last year in the Thanksgiving Day rivalry game, 42-12. 

The two teams come in evenly matched, with Bethel scoring less than a point more per game (33.2) than Brookfield and the Bobcats averaging just over a yard more per game (337.3) than the Wildcats.  

Bethel needs a win and help to make the Class M Playoffs.

Boys Soccer (13-4-4):

The Bobcats suffered a disappointing end to their season, as the defense of their Class L State Championship came up short.  No. 8 seed Brookfield  to No. 1 seed Bunnell (18-2-3), who went undefeated in the regular season.  The Bulldogs advanced to the finals by downing No. 13 seed Berlin on penalty kicks but ended up losing the championship game 2-0 to No. 19 seed New Canaan.

Brookfield out-shot Bunnell 16-4 in the quarterfinal loss and clearly had the advantage on the attack throughout the game, as they forced Bunnell into surrendering nine corner kicks.  

Bulldog keeper Sebastian Tamayo was forced to make numerous saves (11), including one against senior captain Chris Ackell in the final minute of regulation. Fellow captain, senior Tom D'Ostilio, also had numerous good runs on the ball and had a chance for a game-winner with a one-on-one chance with two minutes remaining in regulation and another chance on a shot from inside the box five minutes into overtime.

"I'm proud of the boys, I can't ask anything more from any of them on a night like tonight," Brookfield coach Alex Harrison said following the loss. "We were a centimeter away from going to the next round. We get to this stage and they worked ever so hard, all season.  Practice, games, game plans, listening to what I've got to say, listening to what the team captains have got to say and just executing.  There were a lot of guys out there who left everything out there for me."

Girls Swimming and Diving (12-3):

The Lady Bobcats  in the Class M State Championship held at Wesleyan University on Tuesday. The finish was the best ever placement for the Brookfield girls team, an improvement from last year's best ever finish of sixth place.  Brookfield tallied 486 points, finishing behind second place Branford (559) and first place Wilton (828).

The team was paced by sophomore sensation Maddy Smart, who placed first in the 200 Yard Freestyle and 100 Yard Freestyle.  Smart broke the record in the 100 that had stood since 1992 with a time of 51.51.  Smart also was part of a school-record-setting 200 Yard Freestyle Relay team.  Freshmen Sam Palicz and Anna Brown and senior Megan Melville were part of the team.

Brookfield finished the competition by taking first place in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay with Smart, Palicz and Melville being joined by Kalli Melville for the win.

Smart, Brown, Palicz and the Melville twin sisters all competed in the State Open Championship held at Yale University on Saturday afternoon. Despite the small group of Lady Bobcats qualifying for the event, Brookfield was able to place 11th with 177 points.  The team finished behind only one SWC team, Pomperaug (seventh place — 252) and one Class M team, Wilton (fourth — 421).

Smart took first place in the 200 Yard Freestyle but was edged at the line by Pomperaug's senior Elizabeth McDonald in the 100 Yard Freestyle.

Megan Melville finished 11th in the 200 Yard Freestyle and 15th place in the 500 Yard Freestyle.

The team of Palicz, M. Melville, Brown and Smart finished seventh in the 200 Yard Freestyle Relay and the team of Smart, M. Melville, K. Melville and Palicz finished ninth in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay.

"We had big dreams at the beginning of the season, [head coach] Brandt [Nigro] approached us with all these goals and we didn't know if some of them were possible, but in the end with everyone working hard we were so surprised with everything that we could accomplish," Kalli Melville said of the team's incredible season.

Cross Country:

Head Coach Ed Butt provided additional information about last week's 76th New England High School Interscholastic Cross Country Championship that saw senior captain Spencer Mannion finish 54th with a time of 17:52.0.

Mannion was spiked in the back of his shoe 800 meters into the race.  The spike put a hole in his racing flat and pulled his shoe right off.

"The course was muddy in that area which didn't help. For a second Spencer may have thought about stopping, but he continued. He raced the next two and a half miles with one shoe," Butt said.

Mannion's 54th place finish was the 20th best finish among Connecticut runners. He finished with the second best time of only four SWC runners who qualified for the race.

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