Masuk football rolling and focused in Connecticut

The Masuk (Monroe) football team is five weeks into its season and the undefeated and fourth-ranked Panthers have given up less than three points a game.

Head coach John Murphy's team has also put up a bunch of points, 232, and it's undeniable the team has its eye on the prize: A Class L championship. In the South-West Conference, there appears to be no one in the Panthers' path who is a threat to a league title or a playoff berth, let alone scoring again on their fierce defense, after their dismantling of league rival and previously unbeaten Bunnell (Stratford) 45-0 Friday night in Stratford.

Perhaps Newtown on Thanksgiving eve.

The Nighthawks spoiled Masuk's season last year with a 36-22 upset, but that seems unlikely this year. The most important thing for Masuk is to stay focused, something Murphy says should be no problem.

"Here's what I'll tell about this team that's amazing," Murphy said. "They prepare every week, no matter what, who we're playing as if it's the state championship. They get after each other each week. They've got goals set for themselves that are pretty lofty and I think you're going to see the same kind of effort from this group pretty much week-in and week-out."

It wasn't widely considered Bunnell would beat Masuk, but it was felt the Bulldogs presented the Panthers with their biggest challenge so far, if not for the entire regular season.

In the cold, wind and rain on Friday night, Masuk (5-0, 4-0 SWC Colonial) first struck just after Bunnell (Stratford) (4-1, 2-1) started its second possession on its 13. Senior cornerback Joe Diaz picked off a Bryan Castelot (21-for-40, 165 yards, two interceptions) pass in the flat and took it 15 yards for a score.

"It was a little slant. I saw the ball the whole way," Diaz said. "The receiver tripped up a little bit. As soon as I saw it in the air, I knew I had to catch it because if I caught it I was gone. Just had to focus in on it."

Later, Diaz would focus in on the second-half kickoff as well. With Masuk up 21-0, Diaz scored on an 85-yard return.

"He's got such speed; he's a game breaker," Murphy said. "He played a great game at corner as well. The two huge plays. He kind of got us started (on the pick) and pretty much put the nail in the coffin play 1 of the second half. That's something that this team has done all year. When it's time to finish a game, we come out and finish."

The Bulldogs' game plan was to make Masuk run the ball and not let Panthers' junior quarterback Casey Cochran (9-for-17, 169 yards, three interceptions) beat them. So Masuk took what they were given and senior running back Colin Markus (6-1, 180) did most of the taking.

Markus had a breakaway run of 63 yards in the first half to set up a TD, and 28-, 53- and 45-yard runs in the second half, each of which led to a score. Markus finished with 234 yards on 17 carries. He scored only once but his impact immeasurable.

Masuk's run defense was just as effective as its running game, if not moreso, limiting Bunnell to 18 yards on the ground. The Bulldogs came in averaging 241.5 a game.

"All year, our defense has stopped the run, it's something they take a lot of pride in and putting zeros on the board is something they take a lot of pride in as well," Murphy said.

Murphy mentioned senior defensive lineman Tim Allen (6-1, 230), senior linebacker Anthony Calabrese (5-10, 180) and senior nose guard Jerry Peck (6-0, 230) as standouts Friday.

Bunnell put together some extended drives with Castelot completing 10 of 11 during one first-half stretch, mostly on short flat passes, but when Masuk wasn't stopping the Bulldogs, they were plagued by bad snaps, six of them, which effectively stopped each potential drive.

The furthest Bunnell pushed into Masuk territory in the first half was the 17 before a turnover on downs, and in the second half got only as far as the Masuk 34 and 24 before again failing on fourth-down attempts.

In his postgame talk, with his team kneeling in a circle near the visitor's sideline, Murphy said "Let's challenge ourselves to be a better football team, because I know we can. It comes from practice. Your practice habits have been outstanding, let's keep it that way."

TOP PERFORMERS
* Jalon White, North Haven football: Gained 183 yards rushing on 10 carries and scored three touchdowns in a 46-14 victory over East Haven.

* Shane Anane, Hartford Public football: Rushed for 311 yards and seven touchdowns, one shy of the single-game state record, in a 44-6 victory over Rockville.

* Joe Della Vecchia, St. Joseph (Trumbull) football: Went 11-for-17 passing for 188 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-20 victory over Bassick (Bridgeport).

STORYLINES
* South Windsor boys soccer surprised large school No. 3 Glastonbury with a 2-2 tie. Zach Heckt and Ben Zandonella each scored for the Bobcats.

* No. 6 Simsbury also was tied by an unranked team when Southington knotted the Trojans 1-1. Greg Smedberg provided the Blue Knights' only goal.

* Unranked Warde (Fairfield) stunned No. 2 Norwalk 2-1 as Oliver DeBarros and Jason Correia each scored for Warde.

* Small school No. 2 Old Lyme came back from a 2-1 halftime deficit to defeat No. 7 Cromwell 3-2 behind two goals from Colin Basler, including the winner on a penalty kick in the 56th minute.

* No. 9 Farmington received payback for an early season loss to New Britain with a 2-1 victory over the Hurricanes. Peter Wilbik provided the winner for the Indians.

* In girls soccer, large school No. 4 Darien fell to small school No. 7 St. Joseph (Trumbull) 2-1 behind goals by Shannon Duffy and Alyssa Christo. Katie Danaher and Christo had assists.

* No. 3 Granby Memorial field hockey defeated No. 9 Avon on Leah Giuliano's goal, the only score of the match.

* Unranked Cheshire upset No. 8 Branford as Anna Marcucilli scored two of the Rams' goals in a 3-2 victory Tuesday.

LOOKING AHEAD
* In football, undefeated and second-ranked New Canaan (5-0) plays at St. Joseph (Trumbull) (3-2) on Saturday afternoon in the biggest FCIAC matchup of the weekend.

* In boys soccer, Greenwich (9-1-1) plays at Staples (Westport) (9-2-1) in an FCIAC match, both teams are ranked in the top eight in the CIAC playoffs rankings.

BRIEFLY
* Tyler Leeman of Montville (Oakdale) boys soccer has made an oral commitment to play for the University of Connecticut next fall. A 6-foot-1 forward, Leeman has a school-record 56 career goals and holds other school records for single-season goals (28) and scoring (67) and career marks in assists (25) and points (137).

Paul Rosano, the former assistant sports editor of The Hartford Courant and sports editor of The New Haven Register, covers Connecticut for MaxPreps.com. He may be reached at pjrosano@cox.net.