Lund, Dugger lead Hall past Simsbury

WEST HARTFORD – Extreme adversity at the quarterback position sent the football team down but most definitely not out.

When the Trojans lost their top two signal-callers over the course of the first two weeks, head coach Jeff Osborne had to replace his intricate veer with a simpler approach, but coach Frank Robinson III couldn’t allow complacency to seep in.

The junior-laden Trojans, like a wounded animal, are most dangerous if not taken seriously.

Ian Dugger and George Lund showed that they got the message.

Lund threw three touchdown passes and Dugger scored three times Saturday as the Warriors defended their home turf with a 27-6 triumph in a CCC Division I West skirmish.

Lund connected on 15 of his 25 aerial attempts for 253 yards. Dugger now has seven touchdowns in his last two games and 11 for the season.

As Robinson expected, Simsbury (2-4, 0-2) put up a tussle. The Trojans trailed by just a touchdown at halftime and that was only because a turnover gave Hall (5-1, 1-1) a short field.

“We told them when we were watching film that they play hard,” Robinson said. “[Osborne] does a great job with his kids. At the half it was 13-6, a credit to them.”

Nevertheless, Robinson knew the Trojans, who rarely utilize the forward pass in the best of times, were limited offensively.  With junior quarterbacks Steven Steijn and Brendan Conway injured, junior Blair Zentek, a wide receiver coming into the season, was pressed into service.

“It’s tough in our league,” Osborne said. “They work hard in practice and we put together a game plan. Quarterback is actually an important position in football.”

Simsbury ran a straightforward single wing with Zentek either taking his licks from Hall’s stout front seven or handing it off to fullback Andrew Girard.

“[Zentek] will do whatever you ask,” Osborne said. “That’s the bottom line. That’s the Trojan way. They’ll come back on Monday and they’ll be fine.

“If we had an offense, it would have been a good game.”

Hall held the Trojans to 159 yards, 146 on the ground, while the offense piled up over 430.

“They started running more option, which I think is what they really wanted to do, but ran limited amounts of it with their top two kids out,” Robinson said. “It’s tough on them but they’re doing a pretty good job.”

Each of the three first-half touchdowns came after turnovers.

Hall drove to the Simsbury 5 on its first possession when Trojans linebacker Brad Helmkamp applied a big hit on fourth down. But three plays later, a fumble set Hall up at the 13.

The Simsbury defense stood tall, holding the Warriors short on the first three downs as the quarter drew to a close. On the first play of the second quarter, Dugger skirted right end for a two-yard touchdown.

The Hall defense forced another fumble on the second play of Simsbury’s ensuing sequence.

Lund, connecting with four different receivers, drove the Warriors 45 yards in nine plays.

“He was fantastic,” Robinson said. “He just made some plays that were perfect reads and put the ball where it needed to be.”

Dugger was on the receiving end of a three-yard pass that gave Hall a 13-0 lead.

“He just has a knack to be dangerous every time he touches the ball,” Robinson said. “He’s very humble. He’s definitely a team kind of guy. That’s why he was named captain. He worked hard in the offseason and when you do that, good things happen.”

Simsbury notched its lone first-half score after an interception and 26-yard return by Zentek was accentuated by a personal foul. A 25-yard run to the 1 by Christian Martinez set up a one-yard plunge by Girard. The teams broke for halftime with Hall holding a 13-6 edge.

The Warriors put a crimp in any Simsbury comeback plans on the first play from scrimmage in the second half.

Dugger sprinted down the right sideline, snared Lund’s pass and eluded a defender en route to a 56-yard scoring play.

Blitzing cornerback Ernie Green inflicted a two-yard loss on Zentek to start the next series and Simsbury went three-and-out.

Mixing the pass and run effectively, Lund led Hall on a 10-play, 59-yard scoring excursion that ended with a 13-yard TD pass to Devin Ortiz.

Hall punched the ball into the red zone on each of its fourth-quarter possessions but Simsbury tenaciously held firm. The resolute play of seniors Eric Glynn and Garrett Crowe and cornerback Eddie Novak was representative of a Trojan defense that bent but wouldn’t break. 

Hall 27, Simsbury 6

Simsbury (2-4) 0 6 0 0 – 6

Hall (5-1)          0 13 14 0 – 27

SCORING SUMMARY

Second Quarter

H – Ian Dugger 2 run (Dugger kick), 11:55

H – Dugger 3 pass from George Lund (kick failed), 7:51

S – Andrew Girard 1 run (kick failed), 1:59

Third Quarter

H – Dugger 56 pass from Lund (Dugger kick), 11:39

H – Devin Ortiz 13 pass from Lund (Dugger kick), 5:54

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Simsbury: Andrew Girard 16-53, Blair Zentek 12-14, Christian Martinez 5-52, Cormack Mulshine 4-14. Hall: Christian Bohn 10-82, George Lund 5-16, Ian Dugger 4-8, Devin Ortiz 3-4, Jordan Bell 5-18, Denver Sproul 1-3, Zach Dobbins 1-(-15).

PASSING – Simsbury: Zentek 2-2-0, 13 yds. Hall: Lund 15-25-0, 253 yds., Dobbins 5-9-1, 70 yds.

RECEIVING – Simsbury: Mulshine 1-12, Martinez 1-1. Hall: Dugger 9-158, Ortiz 4-81, Ernie Green 4-49, L.J. Nembhard 2-28.