#MIDDLEBURY #PHS #PANTHERS #PHS_JUNGLE
Pomperaug Panthers tackle a Barlow player with Mike Murgatroyd and Emmett Reilly at the bottom of the pile and Elijah Brooks, No. 83; James Hartman, No. 50; and Troy Harwell, No. 7 converging on the play. (Ken Morse photo)
By KEN MORSE
When Pomperaug junior quarterback Matt Lenczewski took a knee with 1:18 left on the clock Friday night at Ed Arum Stadium in Southbury, the crowd of close to 1,500 Panthers fans chanted, “We believe that we can win.” And that’s exactly what the Panthers did.
The long, arduous journey to a victory was over for the football team whose last victory was on Thanksgiving Eve in 2014. The power of belief led the Panthers to a stunning 18-13 win over Barlow. When the clock ran out, the Pomperaug team stormed the field. showering head coach James Reed with the contents of a water bucket.
“I love these guys,” said Reed, still dripping from his celebratory bath. “I told them before the game that I loved them and they just went out and believed, even when things didn’t go our way at the start. I’m so proud of this team, how they battled back.
“This has been such a weight on our shoulders,” Reed said. “To get this first win, it’s like a whole new football season upon us. The thing is we need to be able to take a punch. Last year there were times that we were right there but we didn’t respond to adversity. Tonight we did that and answered the bell and it resulted in victory.”
Victory may be more satisfying when there’s a little adversity sprinkled in along the way. On the second play from scrimmage, Brendan Ciccarella recovered a fumble, and the Panthers were in business only to have the referees rule an inadvertent whistle and replay the down.
Coach Reed immediately objected, but to no avail, and Barlow went on to score a touchdown on the opening drive. On the Panthers’ first possession of the game, they were forced to punt, but Barlow was called for a penalty for having too many men on the field.
Pomperaug probably thought the penalty would give them enough yardage for a first down, but the referees ruled it was a dead ball foul and Barlow retained possession. Perhaps the men in pinstripes need a game under their belts to get the kinks out.
Pomperaug never wavered and never got down despite what was going on with decisions beyond their control. After Barlow took a 7-0 lead on a 14-play drive culminating with William Cusick barreling in from 10 yards out, the Panthers went to work.
On a third and 5 from the Pomperaug 45-yard line, Lenczewski (four of seven passing for 88 yards) dumped a pass over the line to Chris Papallo, who took it 55 yards to the house. The extra point try from Alfredo Mondragon-Velazquez was blocked, and the Panthers trailed 7-6 with 8:33 to go in the first half.
Barlow caught a break again but this time the referee’s whistle had nothing to do with it as Alex Stillman blocked Jay Consiglio’s punt and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown to open up a 13-6 Falcons lead.
Time was running out in the first half, and Barlow was forced to punt with just 23 seconds left on the clock. A bad snap caused punter Kevin Valenti to fall on the ball, and Pomperaug took over at the Falcons’ 16-yard line.
Lenczewski wasted no time finding Jake Harwell on a post pattern, hitting him at the 1-yard line for a first and goal with 14 seconds remaining. Harwell slammed into the end zone on the next play behind the strength of Jacob Gran, Mike Houle and John Dinsdale at the line of scrimmage opening up the hole as Pomperaug went into the halftime break trailing 13-12.
“I tried to get into the end zone on that catch,” said Harwell. “But fortunately there was enough time left to run one more play. We are family and this was a long time coming, and we will continue to work to keep this going.”
The third quarter turned into a pushing and shoving match as neither team could gain any footing to move the chains. One thing was obvious – the Panthers’ defense was a lot sturdier when it came to stopping the Falcons in their tracks.
The large chunks of real estate the Falcons had gotten accustomed to in the first half became mere inches as Troy Harwell, Elijah Brooks and Matt Hadad, along with Joe Lacava and Mike Benson, converged on the Falcons ball carrier.
Credit the defensive coaching staff that had to make an adjustment when senior leader Tom Satkowski went down with an injury early in the second quarter. At one point in the fourth quarter seven defenders converged, hitting the Barlow ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage.
Pomperaug trailed and victory was still not assured until 8:36 remained in the game. James Hartman, Emmett Reilly, Anthony Tapia and Brian Flood added to the front line on both sides of the ball as the Panthers imposed their will in the final moments of the game.
On a second and 8 from the Panthers’ 35-yard line, Mike Murgatroyd took a pitch and headed to the outside corner, where he was met at the point of attack by the Barlow defense. After taking the initial hit, Murgatroyd steadied his feet and stayed within an arm’s length of the defense, outracing the Falcon defenders into the end zone on a 65-yard scamper that proved to be the winning touchdown.
“This isn’t about me,” insisted Murgatroyd after the game. “This is about the guys up front who opened up the holes. Once I got by that first defender it just felt great to see the open field.”
For seniors like Jake Mendicino, Andy Poon, Kyle Sheehan, Chad Ouellette and Logan Hoivik, this win takes the sting out of last year and allows the Panthers to focus on the rest of the season without the weight of a losing streak standing in their way. Regardless of what transpires over the rest of this season, nothing will ever take away the night that Pomperaug believed they could win and did so.
The Panthers hit the road next Friday, playing at Bunnell High School in Stratford at 7 p.m. against the Masuk Panthers. Two more away games will follow, one against New Milford and one against Bunnell with a bye week scheduled for the first week of October. Pomperaug will be back home Friday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m. when they host Stratford.
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