After starting their season with two straight games on the road, Bunnell is finally coming home. They will be defending their home-fieldthey go up against the Middletown Blue Dragons at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Bunnell's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They claimed a resounding 58-0 win over Norwich Free Academy on the road. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Connecticut football rankings (they are ranked 21st, while the Wildcats are ranked 92nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Bunnell had a senior duo take command as KK Smalls rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries and Steven Mendoza threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns while completing 85.7% of his passes. The dominant performance gave Smalls a new career-high in rushing yards. Rody Ricketts was Mendoza's top target, picking up 89 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Bunnell was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 305 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 152 rushing yards in seven consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Bunnell's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged three passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Nathaniel Banton. He is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last three games he's played dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Middletown came into Friday's contest having lost four straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 17-14 victory over Bloomfield on Friday.
Rayjon Buttram went supernova for Middletown, picking up 91 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Buttram was no stranger to the big play, cutting upfield on a catch that went for 68 yards.
Bunnell's win bumped their record up to 2-0. As for Middletown, the victory got them back to even at 1-1.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
