Berlin 35, Farmington 28
At Farmington
Berlin (7-0)
7 21 0 7 -- 35
Farmington (5-1) 0 14 7 7 -- 28
First quarter
B: Nick Cote 15 run (Rob Dornfield kick), 7:20
Second quarter
F: James Fox 28 run (Ryan Dunn kick), 11:43
B: Chris Laroche 3 run (kick failed), 3:49
F: Sean Gerhart 18 pass from Steve Harrington (Dunn kick), 1:36
B: Laroche 10 run (Laroche run), 1:06
B: Dan Madey 1 run (Dornfield kick), 0:35
Third quarter
F: Fox 27 run (Dunn kick), 9:38
Fourth quarter
F: Adam Golab 1 run (Dunn kick), 9:50
B: Jon Brummel 7 pass from Madey (Dornfield kick), 4:41
RUSHING: Berlin – Chris Laroche 23-113, Tom Liberda 4-12, Dan Madey 7-minus 17, Bryce Buffaloe 1-2, Jon Morales 4-37, Bryan Hackett 5-42, Nick Cote 1-15; Farmington – James Fox 18-118, Adam Golab 9-87, Steve Harrington 1-minus 2, Carl Morrissey 2-10, Sean Gerhart 1-0
PASSING: Berlin – Madey 11-16-0, 139 yards; Farmington – Harrington 4-8-0, 102 yards
RECEIVING: Berlin – Morales 7-82, Laroche 1-17, Jon Brummel 2-10, Liberda 1-22; Farmington – Sean Gerhart 4-102
MISSED FIELD GOALS – none
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Connecticut Sports Online
FARMINGTON, Oct. 29, 2004 – With his visiting white jersey grey with dirt and mud, Berlin’s Chris Laroche moved very slowly and deliberately after Friday night’s Nutmeg Football League thriller with Farmington.
He had been hit, slammed and thrown to the turf. Twice, he limped off the field after tackles. But he always returned and was able to elude the Indian defenders to lead Berlin past Farmington, 35-28 in a battle of undefeated teams.
Berlin (7-0, 6-0 Nutmeg) took over sole possession of first place in the Nutmeg League while Farmington (5-1, 5-1) dropped its first game of the season and likely saw its league and CIAC tournament hopes take a big blow. Berlin still has games remaining with East Catholic (6-0, 5-0) and Middletown (5-1, 5-1).
Laroche was the main weapon in a Berlin drive late in the first half as the Redcoats scored 21 points in the final 3:49 to take a 14-point halftime lead. And with the game tied at 28-28 late in the fourth quarter, his 23-yard kickoff return helped set up Berlin’s game-winning drive.
“He found a way to get the job done tonight,” Berlin coach John Capodice said. “He had a great week of practice and it carried over to tonight. You can’t play a better game than he did.”
With the scored tied at 7-7 in the second quarter, Laroche carried the ball three straight times for 47 yards, including three yards for a touchdown. The extra point try was short after Berlin was penalized 15 yards for a personal foul after the play.
Farmington responded immediately with a 83-yard drive sparked by a 56-yard run by James Fox (18-118). The Indians took a 14-13 lead with 1:36 left on a 18-yard touchdown pass from Steve Harrington to Sean Gerhart.
But on the kickoff, Laroche returned the ball 52 yards to the Berlin 27-yard line. QB Dan Madey completed a 17-yard pass to Laroche, who powered into the end zone on the next play with a 10-yard run with 1:13 left.
On the kickoff, Farmington’s Reed Brown returned the ball 20 yards but was creamed by Berlin’s Jon Brummel and fumbled. Berlin’s Joey Farone recovered. Madey completed a 42-yard pass to Jon Morales to the Farmington 1 and Madey scored on the next play to give Berlin a 28-14 lead at the break.
“It was a hard-fought game and the team that made the least mistakes won,” Farmington coach Jeff Bemis said. “We have nothing to be ashamed of. They should be proud of the way they played. It was a tough game and we had our chances.”
Farmington cut the lead to seven on its opening drive of the third quarter with a 41-yard completion to Gerhart and a 25-yard touchdown run by Fox.
Early in the fourth quarter, Farmington marched 79 yards on six plays, sparked by a 25-yard completion to Gerhart and a 30-yard run by Fox. Adam Golab’s 1-yard run and the extra point by Ryan Dunn with 9:50 left tied the game at 28-28.
But on the kickoff, the Indians kicked a line drive to Laroche, who scampered up the right sideline 25 yards to the Berlin 47-yard line.
The Redcoats drove to the Farmington 7-yard line and burned two timeouts trying to set up a crucial 4th and 3 play. Madey, 3-for-3 on the drive, lofted a 7-yard completion to 6-foot-3 Brummel, who outjumped a FHS defender in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown with 4:41 left and a 35-28 lead.
Farmington didn’t quit, marching to the Berlin 24-yard line with some hard running up the middle from Fox and Golab. But when Fox was tripped up near the Berlin 20-yard line and fumbled, the Redcoats recovered to ice the threat.
“This feels great,” a tired Laroche said afterward. “We worked real hard for this. We haven’t been getting a lot of respect.”
The first touchdown of the game was unique. Seven yards behind the line of scrimmage, Golab and Dan Ray hit Berlin QB Madey at the same time and the ball squirted up in the air. Berlin fullback Nick Cote caught the ball and weaved his way upfield for a 15-yard touchdown run.
Farmington played its second straight game without leading rusher Nick Bliss (947 yards) who was out with an sprained ankle. Bemis said Bliss could have played but he didn’t want to take the chance on losing Bliss for the rest of the season if he reinjured his ankle. The Indians have games left with Northwest Catholic, Plainville and Avon.
