Pomperaug High School’s offensive line, left, squares off against the Joel Barlow Falcons’ defense on a goal-line play in the second quarter Friday night. The Panthers worked hard to earn a 27-14 win over the Falcons. (T.J. Ostrander photo)
By T.J. OSTRANDER
The Panthers’ Friday night home game against the Joel Barlow Falcons couldn’t have been scripted any better. Before the game, the Panthers seniors were honored; during the game they dominated. The Panthers snapped their three-game losing streak, beating Barlow 27-14.
The Pomperaug defense made tremendous strides in previous weeks and kept it rolling Friday by turning in one of their best defensive performances of the season. The Falcons immediately tried to establish the run game on the Panthers during their first drive. However, from the first play, the Panthers were ready to set the tone for the evening. The Falcons found themselves punting after three consecutive run plays were stonewalled by Pomperaug. The punt was muffed by the Panthers and the Falcons fell on top of it, setting themselves up with excellent field position.
“Our team was extremely physical, more physical than I think we’ve been all season long,” Coach James Reed said about his defensive unit. The team’s physicality showed just two plays after they turned the ball over to Joel Barlow. The Falcons ran the ball yet again, and the ball popped out as the Panthers swarmed. Spencer Pope, who had fumbled the ball on the punt return, redeemed himself only two plays later as he recovered the loose ball for the Panthers.
Despite the defensive success, the Panthers offense had been struggling mightily coming into Friday night’s game. Last week, the team could muster only 13 points in their loss at Masuk. Friday, they clearly were a different team. Quarterback Wade Prajer used his legs early as he slashed the Falcon defense and pushed the ball downfield. Then he connected with Troy Sullivan on a crucial third down play to keep the Panther drive alive. Eventually, Prajer found old reliable Jimmy Christiano for a 37-yard touchdown pass. The Panthers had drawn first blood, leading 7-0 with 6:02 left in the first quarter.
The Falcons, however, showed they were not willing to go down easily. After a great kick return brought them onto the Pomperaug side of the field, their running game finally found a hole in the Panthers’ defense. Quarterback Bryan Gallaer ran 28 yards for a Falcon touchdown, tying the game at 7-7 with 3:17 to go in the opening quarter.
Prajer continued to assert his dominance early into the second quarter. Joel Barlow had forced Pomperaug into a tough fourth-down situation deep on their side of the field. Reed elected to go for it instead of taking a field goal try, and the decision paid off. Prajer found Mike Curcio wide open for a touchdown, giving the lead back to Pomperaug. It was now 14-7 with 10:20 left in the second quarter.
The relentless Pomperaug defense kept at it, as Barlow fumbled and the Panthers’ Kevin Nadler recovered. The Panthers were in a position they hadn’t really been in all season – they had a chance to take a two-score lead. Pomperaug gave Prajer’s arm a break on the drive; using their running attack, the Panthers put the ball in for another score. This time it was Dean Guerrera taking it across the goal-line for Pomperaug. The Panthers lead was extended to 21-7 with 5 minutes left in the first half.
Spencer Pope recovered his second fumble of the day on the ensuing kickoff. The Falcon defense however, buckled down in the second quarter and neither team scored again before halftime. The Panthers took a 21-7 lead to the locker room.
The Panthers came out in the second half ready to play. Having lost three consecutive games, they were ready to make sure this one didn’t get away from them. Using their ground attack, the Panthers ran the ball down the Falcons throat. Jake Hardwell had some key runs, and Prajer took a 1-yard quarterback sneak across the goal line. The Panthers upped their lead to 27-7 with 9 minutes left in the third quarter.
Joel Barlow was not ready to give in quite yet though. It took the Falcons only 1:50 to drive the length of the field for a touchdown, capped off by a 50-yard dash. The Falcons were back in the game trailing 27-14 with 7:20 left in the third.
Penalties threw the Panther offense out of whack for the rest of the game and they did not score again. The Panther defense rose to the occasion, protecting the team’s 13-point lead. The game moved into the fourth quarter with the score still 27-14.
With the offense still sputtering, the Panther defense held off the Falcons in the fourth quarter. Key sacks of the quarterback by Tom Satkowski, Sullivan and Christiano led the way. The Falcons were never able to move the ball past midfield in the fourth quarter, and time ran out on them. Pomperaug had snapped their losing streak with a 27-14 win.
Senior Wade Prajer led the way for the Panthers. He threw two touchdowns and ran for one as well. Not to be overlooked was the effective defensive and special teams play. Prajer delivered some bone-crushing tackles and also did an excellent job punting for the team. “Wade is a guy who is such a great athlete, the more he’s involved the better he plays,” Reed said of his star quarterback.
The Panthers move to 4-6 on their season while Joel Barlow falls to 4-6. Pomperaug’s last game of the season will be Wednesday, Nov. 26, the night before Thanksgiving, when they play Notre Dame-Fairfield (ND) at 7 p.m. The Panthers should see one of their best offensive performances of the season as ND has allowed the opposition at least a 27-point lead in every game this season and their record stood at 0-8 before their game against Brookfield Saturday, Nov. 15.
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