SOUTHBURY -- Mike Leonetti was in the firm grasp of his mother Friday night, getting a big hug after Pomperaug High's 35-0 football win
over visiting Notre Dame at the Edward Arum Athletic Field in Southbury.

The hug from his mother was one of the rare times that Leonetti was wrapped up at all in the South-West Conference game. Leonetti scored a
career-high five touchdowns, giving him an area-best of 14 TDs this season. The senior running back also rushed for 152 yards on 25 carries. Despite
his big game, Leonetti thought it was a hard-fought game.

"It was tough to get yards tonight -- a lot tougher than I anticipated," Leonetti said. "As the game went on they were hitting good.
They have a lot of good kids in there. They played hard the whole time."

Leonetti wasted little time getting the Panthers in gear. On Pomperaug's first play from scrimmage he took a pitch and ran around the left sideline for a
64-yard gain. He was stopped on the 1-yard line, but went through the middle on the next play to give Pomperaug the 7-0 lead after Dan DeGeorge
added the first of his five extra-point kicks with 10:34 left in the first period. The Panthers' total time of possession: 21 seconds.

Leonetti scored again on a three-yard run with 1:54 left in the opening quarter. His third TD came on a diving 24-yard catch on a fade route from
quarterback Steve Sheppard (3-8, 68 yards) with 8:23 left in the half.

Leonetti scored his fourth touchdown on Pomperaug's first possession of the second half. The Panthers traveled 54 yards in
10 plays with Leonetti going up the middle, untouched into the end zone on a 12-yard run.

Pomperaug closed out the scoring on the third play of the fourth quarter on Leonetti's five-yard run up the middle.

Pomperaug coach Chuck Drury said he didn't even realize Leonetti had scored all five TDs.

"We just try to get what the defense gives us," said Drury. "That's what we're looking for. We played hard. The defense played hard. We
gave up the short ones and collapsed on the receivers and played the deep ball pretty well."

Drury also praised the Panthers' defensive efforts. Pomperaug came up with three interceptions off Notre Dame quarterback Colin Finnucan
(7-for-24, 83 yards). Getting the picks were Joe Lasky, Paul Meyer and Ben Crick.

Also having a big game defensive for Pomperaug was defensive end Matt Walker. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound senior had a
13-yard sack, a blocked pass and loads of pressure on the Notre Dame offense.

"It's definitely one of my standout games," said Walker. "We work hard every week. We come out and practice hard. That's how it is."

Leonetti's backfield mates also had big games. Tim Miller gained 102 yards on 21 carries and C.J. Elser
pounded the ball up the middle 10 times for 98 yards.

Drury had high praise for the Panthers in the postgame huddle.

"I congratulated them for their hard work preparing for the season," said Drury. "We spend a lot of time in the weight room.
The boys work very hard. To play our type of offense you have to be ready because there's no dodging anybody. There's a collision on every snap."