MADISON – Friday’s week two matchup at Strong Field yielded a highly anticipated clash of titans in the Southern Connecticut Conference. Max Prep’s 12th-ranked Fairfield Prep visited 11th-ranked Daniel Hand, who defended its home turf for the second straight game to start the year.

The Tigers continued to cement themselves as a major player in the SCC, coming up with their second victory versus Prep in as many years. This one was a 34-3 beat down.

“This is one of the best matchups in the SCC… we’ve historically been one of the smaller teams,” said Daniel Hand’s head coach Erik Becker. “It’s always kind of a David and Goliath matchup.”

Two turnovers and a safety on an aborted snap defined three porous offensive possessions to start the game for Prep. Daniel Hand’s senior linebacker Morris Selmani secured an interception on Prep’s first drive, while senior defensive lineman Trevor Cash recovered a fumble two drives later.

“I mean three points to a team like Prep is unbelievable… our defense played out of their minds,” said Daniel Hand’s senior quarterback Paul Calandrelli. “It’s awesome, we play with so much more confidence when our defense is holding them.”

The Tiger defense pitched its second consecutive first-half shutout to start the year.

Daniel Hand’s offense would emulate their success on the defensive side of the ball, in fact, senior running back Tyler Narracci set the tone for the night, capping off a methodical opening drive with a short touchdown run. Narracci would add another late touchdown to put the game out of reach.

Everything seemed to be working for the Tiger’s offense, still, they reached deep into their bag of tricks for what was perhaps the highlight of the night, when senior receiver Owen Donahey uncorked a long ball down the right sideline, on a fake jet sweep, to a wide open Quinton O’Dea for six.

“I got the two best playcallers in Connecticut in Tyler Tarantino and Tim Chalmers,” said Becker. “We came in with some surprise plays in the game plan knowing that we had to take chances in order to win this game”

Chances were plentiful for the Tiger offense and their execution was on par.

Daniel Hand’s senior tight end Sam Markovitz caught Calandrelli’s lone touchdown pass of the night and junior running back Cam Oranzo concluded Hand’s offensive onslaught with a short touchdown plunge.

Fairfield Prep’s senior kicker Matthew Kleinman converted the only field goal attempt of the night and gave the Jesuits their only points.

Fairfield Prep will look for a rebound next Friday when they go on the road again to face Trumbull High School at 7:00 pm. For the Tigers, they’ll leave home for the first time this season when they match up with Berlin next Friday at 6:30 pm.