MILFORD : Style points were few and far between, but in the end, the Pomperaug
High football team did what it set out to do last night.

The Panthers were sloppy at times, and made more mistakes than usual, but escaped with a
27-7 victory over the feisty Foran Lions, setting up a showdown with Newtown next week.

"I was trying to give them intensity, even though we were winning," Pomperaug coach Chuck Drury
said. "I blamed a lot of our mistakes on Friday the 13th and the full moon, I really don't know what caused them."

The Panthers (4-1) were playing without senior captain Bryan Shalvoy, who was dressed but
unavailable due to an injury. He is expected to return next week.

But Pomperaug never missed a beat in its rushing attack, as senior Kevin Fraser coming off a
big game last week against Notre Dame ran 21 times for 247 yards and scored all four of his team's touchdowns.

"I didn't have to worry about much once I got the ball," Fraser said. "The offensive line did
most of the work, and all I had to worry about was beating one guy."

In all, the Panthers ran up 474 yards on the ground, outgaining the Lions (2-3) 512-138.

After failing to score on a five-minute drive, Pomperaug finally broke through late in the
first quarter when Fraser capped off a six-play, 61-yard drive with a 12-yard scoring run.

Foran, which had been stymied up to that point, suddenly began to move the ball behind
junior fullback Matt Franco. However, early in the second quarter, the drive stalled on the
Pomperaug 11 when a fourth-down pass from sophomore quarterback Garrett Walker was intercepted.

Before the Lions could regroup, the Panthers stormed 97 yards in only four plays.
James Cangelosi had a 37-yard scamper to move the ball to the Foran 49, and on the next play,
Fraser went for his second touchdown of the evening.

The conversion made it 14-0.

After the Lions held the ball for 10 plays and more than three minutes, Fraser needed only one
play to go 65 yards and give the Panthers a 21-0 lead with 3:46 left in the half.

"He runs a 4.5 40," Drury said of Fraser. "I want him to run a 4.4 every time he gets the ball.
Sometimes he makes it look easy."

On the verge of being blown out, Foran responded with a score just before halftime,
Walker finding Chris Morse on a 9-yard pass, to cut the margin to 21-7 at the intermission.

The Foran defense came to life in the second half, but its offense could never
get untracked. The Lions managed only three first downs and 24 total yards after halftime,
with most of the load having to be shouldered by Walker. The Foran line protected
Walker well, but he finished only 6-of-23 for 62 yards and two interceptions.

"We came into the game knowing they were going to throw the ball a lot tonight,"
Pomperaug lineman Matthew Kielt said. "We were ready for them to pass throughout the game."

While Fraser did the most damage, he was joined by Cangelosi, who carried 14 times for
117 yards and quarterback Joe Pugh, who had a tough night throwing the ball, but ran 12 times for 71 yards.

So, while they know improvement is needed, it was still mission accomplished for the Panthers,
who know bigger games still lie ahead on the schedule.

"We'll just have a light practice (today) and start focusing on Newtown," Fraser said. "This one is over."

Pomperaug (4-1)6-15-0-6--27

Foran (2-3)0-7-0-0--7

FIRST QUARTER

P Kevin Fraser 12 run (kick failed), 2:15

SECOND QUARTER

P Fraser 49 run (Robert Kulish pass from Joe Pugh), 7:14

P Fraser 65 run (Drew Robinson kick), 3:46

F Chris Morse 9 pass from Garrett Walker (Kevin Bugyi kick), 0:27

FOURTH QUARTER

P Fraser 3 run (kick failed), 6:28

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Pomperaug: Fraser 21-247, James Cangelosi 14-117, Joe Pugh 12-71, Keith Shalvoy 6-39; TOTALS: 53-474.

Foran: Matt Franco 11-54, Robert McGeary 17-25, Garrett Walker 3-(-5), Chris Morse 2-3; TOTALS: 33-77.

Passing

Pomperaug: Pugh 2-8-1-38.

Foran: Walker 6-23-2-62.

Receiving

Pomperaug: Cangelosi 1-26, Kulish 1-12.

Foran: Morse 2-21, Ed Finlayson 2-17, McGeary 1-16, Franco 1-8.