bunnell pulls out thriller against pomperaug
09.20.2008
By Sean Patrick Bowley THE NEWS-TIMES

SOUTHBURY -- Pomperaug defender Nic Concepcion and Joe Lavoie pretty much bottled up Bunnell's athletic receiver Mark Harrison
all throughout Friday night's SWC clash.

Together, they held the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Division I recruit to a mere three catches all evening.

Unfortunately for Pomperaug, all three counted for points in Bunnell's thrilling 30-22 victory in front of a packed house at Arum Field.

Harrison caught an 84-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and a 2-point conversion pass in the fourth. None were bigger than his last, a 4-yard touchdown catch from
quarterback Chris Sloat with 10 seconds remaining.

"They did a lot to take Mark away," Bunnell coach Craig Bruno said. "But he still caught some touchdowns. I mean, he's a great player."

Pomperaug, which was coming off a heartbreaking 1-point loss to Windham the week before, had just scored the game-tying points on junior quarterback
Justin Clements' 1-yard run and his 2-point conversion toss to senior Sean McVerry with 1:44 left.

Bunnell got the ball back at its own 38 with 1:35 remaining and went to work.

"The last drive, I just had to go as hard as I could," said Sloat, who was just 5-for-20 passing with an interception to that point. "We knew we had to
go as hard as we can. We practice it all the time. We do speed drills."

Sloat, who finished with 111 yards on 17 carries, ran for a first down and then threw a 33-yard pass to Josh Velush to get his team down to the Pomperaug 17.
With time running down, he ran twice more to get it down to the 4 with 15 seconds remaining.

During a timeout, Sloat said Bruno called for another run with almost the entire team lined up to the left side of the field. The left hander took the shotgun snap
and ran right. But then Sloat heard his name from across the field.

It was Harrison, who had broken loose in the middle of the end zone and was running toward the sideline. Sloat looked up and lofted the ball into Harrison's waiting arms.

"They hit the big money guy for a couple big plays on the goal line," said Pomperaug coach Chuck Drury, referring to Harrison. "That last one he looked
like a center out there, backing his kid into the paint and Sloat threw him the football."

Because of heavy coverage in the middle of the end zone during the play, Harrison admitted he ran the wrong route and was caught in traffic.

"Then I saw Sloat running my way and I just ran with him and it all worked out for us," Harrison said.

It wasn't over yet. Pomperaug's Ben Crick, who made a living off returning Bunnell's squib kicks all evening, returned another 20 yards to the Bunnell 45 with 5 seconds left.

But a horde of Bunnell linemen, including James McMahon and Taylor Fuller, sacked Clements to end the game.

"They played hard they played tough," said Drury, whose team falls to 0-2. "They played a very good team. We had our opportunities."

Pomperaug actually controlled possession for most of the game and, other than Harrison's acrobatic 84-yard touchdown catch down the
right sideline in the second quarter, frustrated Bunnell's defense all night.

But in the second half, Bruno called more run than pass and the Bulldog offense opened up considerably.

After C.J. Elser gave Pomperaug a 14-8 lead on a short run. Fullback Oliver Aurielia and Sloat combined on a 12-play drive that took place entirely on the
ground. Sloat's 4-yard run made it 14-14. His extra point kick, however, missed.