Saturday, June 29, 2013 10:54 PM EDT
EAST HARTFORD ? For six of our area?s athletes, Saturday?s Hall of Fame Classic Military Bowl was more than just another football game, it was a last hurrah for playing football at the high school level, and a great way to cap off their stellar senior seasons.
Southington?s Nick Spitz and Nathan Bonenfant, Newington?s Zachery Hedberg, Berlin?s Kevin Main and Mitch Blanchette, and New Britain?s Daequone Clark all were selected to the 2013 Senior High School All-Star football game, and though not all of them got the opportunity to make the big plays, each of them enjoyed the opportunity to be apart of the prestigious game.
?It?s a once in a life time thing,? Hedberg said. ?I?m going off to Western, so it?s a good way to end senior year.?
The National Guard and Marines held a draft to select the teams, picking from the best high school seniors the state has to offer. Whether it was the luck of the draw, or by design, both the Southington players wound up on the Marines team, while both Berlin players were chosen to the National Guard. While it won?t be the last time Main and Blanchette play on the same team, as both are committed to go to Western Connecticut State University in the fall, they still enjoyed being able to play together one more time.
?I had a lot of fun it was a good time,? Blanchette said. ?It was a great honor to have us two here to represent our town. Hector Rodriguez was supposed to be here with us but he got injured unfortunately, but we had a lot of support here today so it makes us proud that we can represent the town and pull out the win.?
?Kevin and I have been best friends since we were little so we?re excited that we get to play four more years together at Western,? Blanchette said.
Rentschler Field was the site of the Berlin Redcoats Class M State Finals defeat to Hillhouse, so playing one more time here brings up some memories for Main and Blanchette. Fortunately, for them they were chosen by the National Guard, who won the game 15-14, so Main and Blanchette get some Rentschler Field redemption.
?It was pretty emotional coming back here,? Main said. ?It was a tough loss here back in the fall, so it?s nice to leave this place with a win.?
The Southington duo of Spitz and Bonenfont won?t get the chance to play together at the next level, as Spitz will attend Salve Regina University, while Bonenfant will be playing for the Southwestern Connecticut Grizzlies prep football program, but both relished the opportunity to play together one final time.
?It was an honor to play in this game with some of the top players in the state, I?ve been waiting for months to get out here,? Bonenfant said. ?Spitz is my boy, we?ve been playing together for a long time, so it?s sad to have played in our final game together, but he?s a great player so I?m sure I?ll see him at college.?
The lone New Britain representative, Clark, didn?t receive a lot of attention during the game, he was only thrown to a couple times, but did have a big 12-yard catch to give his team the first down. While he would have liked to get some more action, it was all about the honor of being selected to the game.
?It was a good game and it was great to get out here and represent New Britain,? Clark said. ?I didn?t really get a lot of catches, but it was still fun to be apart of the game it was a great experience.?
Though Hedberg was, like Clark, the only representative from his school, his coach Roy Roberts was with him on the sidelines serving as an assistant coach for the Marines team. Though the outcome wasn?t one either Hedberg or Roberts liked, they still enjoyed their final game together,
?Coach Roberts is a very good coach,? Hedberg said. ?He loves his kids and he?s done a great job developing my brother Jake, so good luck down the road to them.?
For all the players involved, Saturday?s game was the culmination of four years of hard work. Each of them earned their spot in this game, and did their city proud with their performance.
Chris McLaughlin can be reached at (860) 225-4601 ext 255 or at cmclaughlin@newbritainherald.com
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Source: http://bristolpress.com/articles/2013/06/30/sports/doc51cf9d96d1efa635287093.txt
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