Panthers go back to the drawing board

#MIDDLEBURY #PANTHERS #PHS

Pomperaug junior quarterback, No. 4, Matthew Lenczewski, prepares to throw a pass in the Sept. 9 football game. He was injured on the third play of the Sept. 16 game against Masuk. The Panthers now will look to No. 7, sophomore Troy Harwell, to take over in the pocket.  (Ken Morse photo)

By Ken Morse Middlebury – Special to the Bee-Intelligencer

Any time a team needs to go back to the drawing board, it’s not a good thing. It’s even more unsettling when it happens just two games into the season. Pomperaug lost junior starting quarterback Matt Lenczewski on the Panthers’ third play from scrimmage during their 48-8 loss to Masuk Sept. 16, and he is most likely out for the remainder of the season.

“I just feel so bad for Matt,” said Pomperaug head coach James Reed. “Last year Matt lost the entire season when he broke his collarbone. It appears to be a fracture in his ankle but we will know more this week when he goes back to the doctor.”

The highs and lows on the field of athletic competition can be extreme. One week after celebrating their first win since 2014, the Panthers head back to the drawing board to try and resurrect the offense.

“Senior Joe Lacava, who quarterbacked last year, came in and took over the snaps when Matt got injured,” said Reed. “But we are going to need Joe to move from his tight end position over to fullback with Tom Satkowski out with an injury that occurred in the season opener.”

Pomperaug had its hands full against Masuk right from the start. One week after Masuk used an effective ground game to score six rushing touchdowns in a 49-7 win over Stratford, the Panthers from Monroe went to the air as quarterback Matt Hersch threw six touchdown passes to defeat the Panthers from Southbury.

“We didn’t do much to help ourselves, fumbling the ball away three times in the first half,” said Reed. “Masuk did a lot of good things on both sides of the ball. They are a very good team and we knew that going in. We are going to have to go out and get our victories. The bar isn’t going to get any lower. Every game in this league is going to be a battle.”

Less than one minute into the game, Nick Dellapiano (seven catches, 157 yards, three touchdowns) latched onto a 35-yard scoring pass from Hersch to put Masuk on the board.

On the third play from scrimmage, Max Mirizio broke through the line and sacked Lenczewski, who was injured on the play. The Pomperaug offense, led by running backs Jake Harwell and Mike Murgatroyd, struggled to gain any positive yards.

Ryan Shaw, Collin Briganti and Michael Zuk recovered Pomperaug fumbles, and Masuk quickly converted them into touchdowns, building a 20-0 advantage heading into the second quarter.

Masuk used the turf at Bunnell High School to its advantage as Dellapiano fumbled but picked it back up on a lucky bounce and raced 31 yards into the end zone to start the second quarter. Masuk will be on the road through the end of October while a new turf field is being put into place on their home field.

“We will need to come up with a long-term solution at quarterback,” said Reed. “We will be more of a running team and will go with sophomore Troy Harwell in kind of a wildcat formation. He has stepped up and is such a positive kid looking to do what ever he can for the team.

“What has impressed me the most was our kids came in on Saturday and have already put that game behind them and are looking to get going for week three. Our JV team went out and won their game on Saturday against Masuk and that really elevated everyone’s mood.”

The Pomperaug JV’s got a lot of experience during the second half of last Friday’s game, and sophomore quarterback Aidan Henry threw his first varsity touchdown pass, a 22-yard strike to junior Mike Ladzinski, who scored his first varsity touchdown with senior Chad Oullette running in the two-point conversion.

Pomperaug will be on the road again this Friday when they take on the Green Wave of New Milford at 6 p.m. “It won’t be an easy task,” Reed said. “New Milford is 2-0 on the season and will be emotional as this will be their homecoming game on their new turf field.”

New Milford won their season opener 41-13 over Weston and in their second game survived a shootout with Bethel 47-34.