Football: Beaulieu's four TDs, fresh approach lead Amity to first win of the season

By Ariana Stover
@arianastover

WOODBRIDGE -- Despite the crisp chill of the fall air and a winless start to the season for the Amity High School football team, students shuffled to the stands at William Johnson Field field in droves. 
 
The Amity Spartans (1-5) defeated the Hamden Dragons (1-5) 49-20 Friday night to give Amity its first win of the season.
 
Amity had a hot start in front of a noisy crowd, scoring on its first drive of the game with a touchdown from junior running back Colin Beaulieu. Beaulieu had a strong first quarter, scoring both of Amity’s touchdowns to put his team up 14-0. 
                 
Beaulieu has been a prime offensive weapon for the Spartans this season and his success continued as he tallied three touchdowns in just the first half of the game. 

Head coach Ted Czepiga is pleased with his running back’s season thus far.
 
“Colin is a tremendous football player,” Czepiga said. “Pretty much every game we go out there he’s one of the best players on the field.”
 
The Spartans continued to move the ball successfully and efficiently throughout the first quarter while the Dragons struggled to find an offensive rhythm. The only first-half touchdown for Hamden was a 6-yard run scored by senior captain and wide receiver Angelo DiMonaco.
 
Amity opened up the second quarter just as quickly as the first. Senior quarterback Michael DeVito connected with senior receiver Christopher Daddio for a 16-yard touchdown, putting the Spartans up 21-0. 
 
“Electric” was how DeVito described the feeling of being on the field tonight.
 
“All of the other games we kind of came out flat, but right away Coach Czepiga really got us excited for the game,” DeVito said. “I think that was the main difference between all of the other games. We all knew that we came to play tonight.”
 
 
 
One minute into the third quarter, Hamden showed signs of life, cutting the deficit to 35-14. But the celebrations on the Hamden sideline didn’t last long as Amity answered right back when Beaulieu scored his fourth touchdown of the night to extend their lead to 42-14. 
 
Even with the impressive night, Beaulieu remains humble about his success.
 
“It starts with my line, first of all. My line and my quarterback,” Beaulieu said. “Coach has been calling the right plays and we’ve been making plays.”
 
DeVito got on the score sheet himself, running in a touchdown with under five minutes left to play in the third quarter to put up the Spartans 49-14.
 
Hamden got on the scoreboard late in the fourth quarter, but it was too late to overcome Amity’s explosive offense. 
 
Going forward, Czepiga hopes to see this success carry through the rest of the season.
 
“We’ve come a long way from Sept. 11, our first game,” Czepiga said. “The sky is the limit for some of these players.”
 
Czepiga emphasizes the importance of starting the next week fresh, not allowing any time to dwell on previous games, no matter the outcome. This message resonates strongly with DeVito and the rest of his team.
 
“Every week, whether we win or lose, as soon as we’re done with film Saturday morning, we’re 0-0,” DeVito said. “It’s a new week.”