Left, Jonah Kass of Katonah scored the game-winning goal in OT for Harvey. Right, Luca Marano helped Harvey claim its first football title in five years. Gabe Palacio Photos
By Jim McLean
It’s been quite a fall season for Harvey’s varsity athletic program with three teams — boys soccer, football, and the girls on coed cross-country capturing league titles and the girls soccer and volleyball teams finishing as runners-up.
On Nov. 9, Harvey’s boys soccer team pulled off a major upset on the road in defeating Wooster School of Danbury, Conn., in sudden-death overtime. The number three-seed Harvey, who had lost three straight years to the top-seeded Generals in the Housatonic Valley Athletic League’s championship games, put an end to the heartache and frustration with a thrilling 3-2 win in OT to deny Wooster its fourth straight league title. Senior captain Jonah Kass of Katonah, the team’s top scorer this season, stepped into a cross shot from Chappaqua’s Jack Muns and headed the ball past the Wooster goalie for the game-winner that gave Harvey the hard-fought overtime win.
Kass had two goals, one in the first half to put his team up 1-0, and the game-winner in OT. Junior Jordan Collins’ goal off a penalty kick had made it a 2-0 game before halftime.
On the same day boys soccer hoisted its championship trophy, the football team was doing the same in Pomfret, Conn., as the Cavaliers beat Hebron Academy 38-20 to earn the New England Prep School Athletic Council’s 8-Man League championship. It was Harvey football’s first championship in the five years the Cavaliers have competed in the league.
Leading the way for Harvey were two of the stalwarts of their powerful offense, quarterback Jackson Saccomanno and senior running back Will Bland. The senior QB finished his season on a high note, going 13 for 25 in passing for 159 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 87 yards on 12 carries and had a rushing TD. Bland caught six passes for 100 yards and scored three TDs. He also ran 14 times for 57 yards and a TD. A standout on defense was senior defensive lineman Luca Marano of Bedford. He made 12 tackles.
While the football team was battling for their league title, Harvey’s coed cross-country team was in Thompson, Conn., competing in the New England Prep School Track Association (NEPSTA) Division IV championship. Harvey’s girls team, fresh off winning the HVAL championship the week before, finished fourth out of 36 teams in the New England event and earned an honorary plaque for finishing in the top four. Meanwhile, Harvey’s top male and female runners, senior Felipe Torres and eighth-grader Ally Zimmerman, ended their respective races in second place, runners-up to the winners in the individual championship. Torres and Zimmerman were coming off championship performances in the HVAL’s title meet the week before, both finishing number one in their respective races. With Zimmerman’s second-place finish in 20:08, she earned All-NEPSAC honors. Seventh-grader Ella Adler came in at 22:16 in 12th place to also earn All-NEPSAC recognition while ninth grader Lilah Groff of Waccabuc earned All-NEPSAC honorable mention for her 21st-place finish in 22:51.
Torres led the Harvey boys, finishing second in a time of 17:30 while sophomore Aidan Garcia of Mount Kisco crossed the finish line at 18:49, good for 16th place. Torres and Garcia each earned All-NEPSAC recognition.
Harvey’s girls soccer team and the volleyball squad had outstanding seasons with each one earning the number two-seed in their respective HVAL playoffs. The girls lost the title game 2-0 to the reigning HVAL champion Williams and the volleyball team fell 3-0 to Christian Heritage School who has now defeated Harvey in back-to-back championship games.
The boys and girls soccer teams, along with the volleyball squad, earned bids to compete in the highly competitive New England championship tournament.