North Haven football isn’t messing around anymore. After a brutal 0-3 start to the season, the Nighthawks just delivered another absolutely dominant performance, cruising to a 42-7 victory over Notre Dame-West Haven at Veteran’s Memorial Field. This team is righting the ship, fast.
Hartline’s Dominance and the Nighthawks’ Resurgence
Sophomore Avery Hartline was an absolute force, tearing up the field for 167 rushing yards and an insane four touchdowns against Notre Dame-West Haven. It wasn’t just him, though. The Nighthawks’ offense as a whole piled up more than 400 yards, while their defense held Notre Dame to only just over 100. Talk about a complete game! North Haven coach Anthony Sagnella pointed to early season issues being “really in confidence, dealing with adversity, finishing, showing up ready, and all those mistakes are youth mistakes.” But that’s clearly changing. Hartline’s third touchdown, a 2-yard run, pushed the lead to 28-7 early in the third quarter. Nick Masto, who also had 115 rushing yards, snagged an 8-yard score between Hartline’s final two TDs. Hartline’s last score, a 1-yard run in the fourth, capped the scoring. Sagnella knows what’s up, saying, “It was obvious to me, and I think everybody else, we started to take control of the line, and that’s an important thing. When you do that, you control the clock and you kind of control your destiny.” They absolutely controlled their destiny, outgaining Notre Dame 300-41 and outscoring them 28-0 in the middle two quarters.
From Early Jitters to Unanswered Points
The game didn’t start like a blowout for long. North Haven actually went up 7-0 quick after Eli Reynolds snagged his first of two interceptions, setting up Gavin Halovatch for a 4-yard run only 1:53 into the game. Hartline even said the defense “was huge throughout the game” and that the “lots of sophomores” on D “fly around and get to the ball. They’re hungry and we get after it.” But Notre Dame-West Haven punched back, marching 48 yards after a fourth-down stop and evening the score at 7-7 with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Wyatt Verrillo to Eli Johnson with 1:41 left in the first quarter. That was the last time the Green Knights saw daylight. North Haven then went on a massive run of 35 unanswered points! Hartline, who already had 130 yards rushing in the first half alone, broke the tie with a 27-yard scamper only 3:50 into the second quarter, making it 14-7. They outgained the Green Knights 150-19 in the second quarter and took a commanding 21-7 lead into halftime. Notre Dame coach Joe DeCaprio admitted they “struggle a little bit defensively against the run this year” and have “no answers for that offense. They’re good.” He even noted that North Haven’s early losses were to “teams that were 11-1.” This isn’t just a win, it’s a statement.
The Nighthawks have now improved to 2-3 after starting 0-3, and you can feel the momentum building. This team is learning “how to play this game the right way,” as Coach Sagnella said, and they are clearly finding their rhythm. With sophomore stars like Avery Hartline absolutely exploding, North Haven is showing everyone that those early season struggles are firmly in the rearview mirror. What a turnaround, and what a performance!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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