HK Sports
The HK Football team's season ended on a high note with a, 54-27, thumping of Thanksgiving Day rival Valley Regional. The convincing win also gave HK the coveted Principal's Cup along with bragging rights.

The Cougars would be clicking on all cylinders from the start as Dave Bartolotta outran the Valley defense for a 73-yard touchdown run on just the second play of the game. Joey Tarallo's extra point would put HK up 7-0 early.

Valley would counter punch with their first possession however as a 7 play drive ended with a 55-yard quarterback scramble for a touchdown, which knotted the game at 7-7.

Not to be outdone, the Cougars would answer back with a 6 play, 65-yard drive that saw Jarrod Ramsey plow his way into the endzone for a four yard touchdown run making it 14-7.

It appeared both teams would continue to trade scores as Valley drove inside the Cougar 20 yard line. From there, they broke off a would-be game tying touchdown run only to have it called back due to a holding penalty. Tim Shine and Peter Harrington would make sure the Warriors would not tie the game after that, as they both sacked the Valley quarterback on 4th down.

With the momentum now in their favor, HK would mount a drive ending in another Ramsey touchdown run from four yards out. The point after was no good, but HK owned a 20-7 lead.

The Warriors would be forced to punt as their next drive stalled, but the kick would pin HK on their own 14-yard line. With 86 yards between themselves and the endzone, the Cougars would waste little time getting another touchdown as Bartolotta slashed and sprinted his way to a 65-yard score, 27-7 Haddam-Killingworth.

Just when the game appeared to be out of reach, Valley would punch in a touchdown on a quarterback sneak just before halftime to make it 27-14.

The second half would not start out well for the Warriors as the went three and out on their opening possession. The Cougars however, would capitalize on their drive as Bartolotta found the endzone again, this time from 14 yards out, 34-14 HK.

The game turned into a nightmare for Valley soon after as HK recovered the ensuing kickoff and retained possession. From there the Cougars drove the short field and got senior Bill Kolodziej into the endzone for a six yard touchdown run, which also padded their lead to 41-14.

With the game securely in hand, HK and Valley would trade two scores till the buzzer sounded. Ramsey accounted for both of the Cougars touchdowns with runs of 43 and 21 yards, which made the final HK 54, Valley 27.

For the Cougars, Bartolotta had a banner day as he carried 24 times for a whopping 249 yards and three touchdowns. Ramsey also impressed the HK faithful with 19 carries for 156 yards and four touchdowns. Ramsey would also break 1,000 yards for the season with his effort. Kolodziej would cap his impressive senior season with 9 carries for 53 yards to go with his touchdown. Fellow senior Joe Tarallo would aid the Cougar scoring also as he was 7 for 8 on extra points.

HK Sports
The HK Field Hockey team put up a great fight, controlling the ball for most of the game, but fell 1-0 in 7 on 7 sudden-death overtime to North Branford in the State Class S Finals yesterday in Wethersfield. The Cougars had several chances to score and Shelby VanHuysen had an outstanding game in goal, but the T-Birds came out on top. HK outshot North Branford 13-6 and had 18 penalty corners to North Branford's 7. The Cougars had defeated North Branford twice during the regular season and won the Shoreline Conference. The top-seeded Cougars were the defending state champion having shared the title last year with Lewis Mills. Read more about the game in the Hartford Courant.

HK's high scorer Leslie Zules take a shot on goal. See more photos from the game in the Fall Sports Gallery.

The JV football team finished its 2006 campaign on a high note with a hard-fought 30-14 victory over the Warriors of Valley.

Following the opening kickoff, HK would hold Valley to a 3 and out. After the punt was downed at the HK 27 yard line, the Cougars would mount a 9 play 73-yard touchdown drive that would end when Greg Zak threw a 40 yard strike to Sal Zichichi. Adam Cubeta would run the 2 point conversion to put HK up 8-0.

The long drive seemed to wake Valley up however, as they proceeded to break a 60 yard touchdown run. They would get their own 2 point conversion, and the game was tied at 8.

Later, a change of possession would have HK backed up to their own 15 yard line, but this would not phase the Cougars as they engineered a 9 play, 85-yard drive that culminated with a Nick DiGioia 1-yard touchdown run. Zichichi would run the 2 point conversion, giving HK the 16-8 lead.

Valley would stop HK's opening drive of the second half and march their way down field to tie the game, 16-16. HK now found themselves in a tight ball game.

The Cougars would answer right back as they pounded their way down field. Zichichi then sprung a 23-yard touchdown run that would hand HK a 22-16 lead. The conversion was no good, which left the door open for the Warriors.

Facing a 4th and 2 from the Valley 47 yard line, Zichichi would grind out a four yard run to keep the drive alive. On the next play Zak would find Zichichi for a huge 22-yard pass completion that put Valley on their heels. Cubeta would put the nail in the coffin with his 19-yard touchdown run with 6 minutes remaining.

Valley would not go quietly however, but Tyler Scovill would make sure they would not find the endzone as he intercepted a pass and forced a fumble to end the last two Warrior drives.

For the Cougars, Zichichi was the main workhorse as he gained 215 yards on 22 carries to go with his 2 receptions for 62 yards. Nice days were also had by DiGregorio (9 carries for 50 yards), DiGioia (11 carries for 42 yards, TD), and Cubeta (4 carries for 23 yards, TD). All in all, HK would gain 439 yards on offense, while the defense would create six turnovers. The JV team finished the season with a 8-1 record.

The Cougars on a drive in the second half. For more photos, visit the Fall Sports Gallery