Oxford Football Comes Up Just Short Against Pomperaug

The Oxford High School football team played tremendous defense and showed a lot of courage in rainy conditions Tuesday night at neighboring Pomperaug High School in Southbury.

But when the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Oxford Wolverines found themselves in a familiar position: on the short end of another close game. In a game in which many people predicted Oxford would be seriously overmatched, the Wolverines had the Panthers worried for an entire game. Ultimately, however, Pomperaug prevailed 10-7 to finish the regular season at 8-2 and still has an outside chance for a state playoff birth, while Oxford finishes its season at 3-7.

"I'm not going to say they are the best 3-7 team in the state, but they have to be up there," Pomperaug head coach Dave Roach said of the Wolverines. "I was not at all surprised by their performance: they've played well all year."

Roach said the Panthers are now in waiting mode to find out whether they make the Class LL state tournament. The CIAC tournament pairings are expected to be revealed Friday at noon.

While Pomperaug waits in nervous anticipation, Oxford looks back on a schedule that easily could have been shown a winning record had one or two more plays had been made or calls had gone their way. Tuesday's game at Pomperaug, for example, included a big play in which Oxford's defense appeared to have stuffed  Pomperaug running back Tyler Valenti in the backfield for a loss of yardage on Pomperaug's fourth and one from Oxford's 37 yard line, but Valenti pitched the ball back to quarterback Eric Beatty who scampered for an 18-yard gain that set up Pomperaug's only touchdown, a 27-yard pass from Beatty to wide receiver Matt Paola. (Paola scored all of Pomperaug's points, including a 37-yard field goal on the slippery artificial turf and an extra point.)

Neither Oxford head coach Joe Stochmal nor senior tri-captain Alex Miller blamed the call in post-game interviews. Instead, both talked about the heart and passion for the game that they saw in the Oxford players.

Stochmal has always said his team doesn't like to focus on "moral victories." But he said the team can take solace in its effort.

"Although our record doesn't show it, I think these boys had one hell of a season," he said. "They never gave up. They played hard in every game. And they should be tremendously proud of themselves."

Miller, Oxford's quarterback and safety who had a key fourth-quarter interception in the red zone on fourth down to give Oxford a final chance at victory, said he was proud of his teammates.

"I wouldn't choose to play with anyone else," he said.

Team Notes:

• Chris VanKamerik had a big 67-yard kick return in the first quarter Tuesday to set up Oxford's only score, a 4-yard run on an option handoff to fullback Anthony Paternoster, a defensive specialist for much of his career who started seeing carries in short yardage situations toward the end of the year due to his ability to break arm tackles.
• Neither team on Tuesday had many yards from scrimmage: Though Pomperaug's full stats were not immediately available Tuesday night, Oxford coaches said the Panthers had less than 100 yards rushing and probably about 150 total yards from scrimmage. The Wolverines, on the other hand, had only 85 yards from scrimmage, a season low.
• Oxford's leading wide receiver, senior Jordan Biagioni, who also plays defensive back, injured his ankle early in the first quarter Tuesday and was noticeably hurt throughout the game.
• Team leading rusher Chris Hovan, a senior tri-captain, suffered a painful and nagging turf toe injury and a knee injury a few weeks ago. He courageously played through pain toward the end of the year but had limited carries and plays on defense and did not put up the impressive rushing numbers he had throughout much of the year when he had several 100-yard plus rushing games.

Score by Quarters:

Oxford: 0, 7, 0, 0

Pomperaug: 3, 7, 0, 0

Scoring plays:

Pomperaug: Matt Paola, 38-yard field goal, 3-0

Oxford: Anthony Paternoster, 4-yard run, Joe Greco kick, 3-7

Pomperaug: Paola, 27-yard pass from Eric Beatty, Paola kick 10-7 (final)

Individual Statistics for Oxford

Anthony Paternoster had five carries for 23 yards

Alex Miller completed 5 of 10 passes for 36 yards

Chris Hovan carried the ball 12 times for 36 yards