Pomperaug Opens Fast 
Saturday, September 15, 2001
© 2001 Republican-American

SOUTHBURY — For Pomperaug High football fans, there was a lot to like about Friday night's
33-6 South-West Conference thrashing over Bunnell in the season opener for both schools.

"For an opening game, I was pleased," said Pomperaug coach Chuck Drury, whose Panthers fell behind
6-0 before trouncing the Bulldogs with 33 unanswered points.

The key is opening game, which allows a little wiggle room for mistakes. And there were mistakes, some
more glaring than others. Amidst the good and the bad, however, there was also something — actually
someone — missing.

When the Panthers took the field before a late-arriving crowd estimated around 900, they came without their leader, quarterback
Rob Kulish. When the Panthers began their pre-game exercises, Kulish was also a no-show.

When the Panthers kicked off to officially open the scholastic gridiron season, Kulish — you might've
guessed — was nowhere in sight. And, as Drury confirmed, Kulish won't return anytime soon because
of an apparent school violation, which resulted in a three-game suspension for the senior quarterback.

Although he wouldn't discuss the situation, Drury said Kulish wasn't suspended from school. The
suspension reportedly came down Thursday, leaving last year's junior varsity signal caller Stephen
Hansen to direct the offense.

"We had to step it up," Drury said. "(The suspension) just happened."

And the game plan suddenly changed. With no proven varsity quarterback running the show,
Drury and his coaching staff implemented a run-heavy game plan. Of course, they didn't really have a choice.

Putting a lot of people of motion and running an abundance of plays off its guards, Pomperaug made
Hansen a winner and left Bunnell puzzled. Sophomore Kenneth Fraser rushed for 134 yards and
three touchdowns, including a back-breaking 19-yard score just 27 seconds into second half.

Senior running back James Cangelosi rushed for 71 yards on 12 carries and the Panthers stuffed the
Bulldogs for the second consecutive season.

"It was a tough game," said Fraser, who erased a 6-3 deficit with a 43-yard touchdown run with
seven seconds left in the second quarter. "We've been practicing the run."

"We lost our starting quarterback and now we have a new one," added Cangelosi, "and Hansen
did a tremendous job."

No stranger to the team's offense, Hansen relied on his speedy backfield to shoulder the load.
He didn't look flashy, but he didn't need to. Hansen didn't showcase his arm, but with his
Panthers out-rushing the Bulldogs 318-53, he didn't need his arm this night. Of course, some night
in the coming weeks a situation could press him into a passing mode, leaving Drury and staff little
time to hone their interim quarterback.

"He stayed cool," said Drury.

There are other items on the practice agenda this week as well. Although Pomperaug's defense,
led by Michael LeRoy and Thomas Tidgwell, iced Bunnell's running game, it struggled at
times to contain the air attack.

Bunnell quarterback Peter Gierying completed just three of 16 passes, but still managed to throw
for 123 yards, thanks to several breakdowns in Pomperaug's secondary. Gierying opened
the scoring with a 67-yard touchdown pass, which looked like a bad punt, to tall and speedy E.J.
Yearwood in the first quarter. Two of Gierying's completions spanned 50 yards or more.

"Their quarterback threw the ball well against us," said Drury. "We need to work on our secondary,
but we were up against a receiver who could run and jump. But we tackled well and we were aggressive."

With a new quarterback temporarily at the helm, Pomperaug may need more patience to find
success in the next two weeks.