By T.J. OSTRANDER
Pomperaug High School’s No. 15, Wade Prajer and No. 80, Troy Sullivan, are ready for a play in the second quarter of their game against Masuk High School Friday night. (T.J. Ostrander photo)
The Pomperaug Panthers visited the Masuk Panthers Friday night in Monroe for what turned out to be a hard-fought battle between the two. Unfortunately for Pomperaug, the Masuk Panthers were victorious. A few last-quarter plays decided the contest, and Masuk walked away with a 25-13 win. Despite the loss, Pomperaug’s head coach, James Reed, said, “There were a lot of bright spots for us tonight.”
Those bright spots started with the opening kickoff. Pomperaug had struggled all season to get off to a good start, but their fortunes took an immediate turn on the first play of the game. Masuk elected to receive the opening kickoff, which turned out to be a big mistake. Pomperaug forced a fumble on the play, and amidst the mad scramble they fell on the ball, giving their offense a tremendous opportunity right off the bat.
The Pomperaug offense took the field, but wasn’t able to take advantage of the early momentum. The Masuk defense stymied the Pomperaug attack and forced a punt after three plays. Masuk was unable to do anything with their first offensive possession of the night either. After three plays, the special teams units were back on the field for each team. Once again, Pomperaug’s unit had the answer. A low snap from the Masuk center to the punter allowed Pomperaug to penetrate past the opposing Panthers’ lineman and block the punt. The ball was recovered by Tom Satkowski of Pomperaug just outside the Masuk 10-yard line.
Pomperaug’s offense was back out on the field, and they could smell the end zone. A penalty against Masuk set the Pomperaug Panthers up with a first-and-goal. Reed wasted no time in his decision making, sending senior quarterback Wade Prajer onto the field. Prajer ran the ball himself on consecutive plays, coming up short of the end zone on both tries. However, on the third try, Prajer made sure he powered his way into the end zone. Pomperaug added the extra point and led 7-0 just five minutes into the game.
Masuk respond quickly. On the ensuing kickoff they brought the ball down on the Pomperaug side of the field. When a few penalties went Masuk’s way, they took advantage and added one of their own rushing touchdowns. The score was tied at 7-7.
The score remained deadlocked for the rest of the first quarter. Both teams possessed the ball one final time, but defense was the answer for each Panthers squad.
Early into the second quarter, Pomperaug’s offense found life. Struggling the entire first quarter to move the football, one play changed their fortunes. Masuk brought a heavy pass rush after Prajer, who danced around the defenders and fired a strike to the corner of the end zone where sure-handed Jimmy Christiano reeled it in on a spectacular dive. A 20-yard strike for the touchdown had Pomperaug in front 13-7 as the extra point was no good.
The Pomperaug defense had all the answers for most of the second quarter. Masuk responded to the touchdown by returning the kickoff to the Pomperaug 29-yard line. The Pomperaug defense dialed in and on the third down forced a turnover. Pomperaug’s Austin Post intercepted a pass at the 31-yard line. Masuk’s next offense position also ended on an interception, this time by Izaiah Williams.
Pomperaug seemed to be in control of this defensive battle on a cold night. Their offense was not mustering much, but their defense was stifling Masuk. In the final minute of the second quarter, the momentum of the game shifted. Masuk elected to go for it on a fourth down. When they ran a trick run play, they fooled the Pomperaug defense and Masuk running back Nick DeLorenzo scampered 51 yards for a Masuk touchdown. Pomperaug special teams came up big again, blocking the extra point. This left the game tied at 13 heading into halftime.
Pomperaug’s defense established themselves once again in the third quarter. Masuk’s turnover woes continued as well. After Pomperaug failed to get anything going on their opening possession of the half, the defense struck again. This time Jake Hardwell recovered a fumble for Pomperaug. Penalties prevented Pomperaug getting any offensive momentum, and they were forced to punt back to Masuk. Once again the Pomperaug defense turned up the pressure.
Troy Sullivan was the key defensive player on this series for Pomperaug. Sullivan was all over the field, recording three tackles, including a big quarterback sack. Masuk’s offensive drive ended as a fumble and was picked up by none other than Sullivan. The game headed to the fourth quarter still at 13 each.
Pomperaug forced turnover after turnover all night long. However, their offense was unable to cash in and convert any of the turnovers into points.
“We had five turnovers tonight. Shame on us for not converting those into points. Shame on us,” Reed said as he reflected on his defense’s performance.
In the fourth quarter, Masuk broke the game open. Using the same play used for the 51-yard touchdown just before the half, Masuk scored two more touchdowns, both by DeLorenzo. The first was a 76-yard touchdown; the second was from 34 yards out. Just like that, in a matter of minutes, Masuk had taken control of the game 25-13.
Reed put sophomore quarterback Joe Lacava into the game for his arm strength. The Masuk defense still did not budge and 25-13 was how the game ended. It was a tough loss for Pomperaug to take, as they led for a good portion of the game.
“That’s been it all year. I’ve felt we’ve been just a couple of assignments, a couple of plays away and that’s the difference,” said Reed as he struggled to find an explanation for what happened in the fourth quarter.
“They got us on a trap three times. Good for them for calling it for three times. We just didn’t defend it, or adjust to it,” Reed said of the trick play that led to three Masuk touchdowns.
With this loss Pomperaug fell to 3-6 on their season, while Masuk improved to 6-3. The Panthers will host 3-5 Joel Barlow Friday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at Pomperaug High School. Joel Barlow will be a tough task for the Panthers, as they are a better football team than their record indicates and have defeated a few teams who have beaten Pomperaug this season.
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