In a tight game late in the third quarter that had seen one team generate only two first downs (one via penalty) and neither team having yet scored a touchdown, Hartunian stepped in front of Northwest Catholic quarterback Mike Sarnese’s pass for Hartunian’s second interception of the day.

The flashy Hartunian (who also intercepted a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half), after garnering his 20th career interception broke to the left and galloped 16 yards into the end zone to give Berlin a 12-point lead en route to a 24-0 whitewashing of a game Indians’ squad.

"I watched the quarterback’s eyes," Hartunian assessed. "As soon as I saw the ball, I broke on it"

While Hartunian’s interception and subsequent return made it 12-0, it wasn’t the first points Berlin’s defense put up in the game.

After freshman Robert Dornfried’s 35-yard field goal put Berlin up 3-0 with 6:38 left in the first half, defensive tackle Andy Long led a group that dropped Sarnese (11-for-31, 4 INTs., 72 yards) for a safety as he dropped back to pass on third-and-12 from his own 9 with just over a minute left in the second quarter.

"That (Hartunian’s interception and return) gave us a little bit of a cushion," Berlin head coach Al Pelligrinelli said. "We were in a dogfight. They were ready to play and did a great job."

"Fortunately our defense played exceptionally well," Pelligrinelli noted. "Joel’s going to pick some off, and he found the right time to pick one off today."

Still, Northwest Catholic (0-4) refused to fold after Hartunian’s interception, and the Indians, who were limited to seven first-half yards (and one first down on a penalty), made their deepest penetration into Berlin territory on the strength of a 29-yard Sarnese-to-Oraine Howell catch and run on a wide receiver screen.

Two plays later, however, Howell grabbed a tipped ball near the line of scrimmage only to have Long strip the ball. The opportunistic Anthony Boguslawski fell on the ball, and Berlin (4-0, 3-0 Nutmeg) would soon put the game away.

The Redcoats went 67 yards in 10 plays, aided by a roughing-the-passer penalty, but Chris Laroche (game-high 23 carries, 93 yards) earned 19 yards on the drive. Laroche fumbled at Northwest’s one, but Boguslawski ended the drive as he had started it; by recovering a fumble, this one in the end zone, for the touchdown to make it 18-0 after the Indians’ Dan Murphy earned the first of his two blocked PATs on the play.

Just as important as the score was, it took 4:26 off the clock, and Northwest couldn’t recover. Berlin finally broke through with an offensive touchdown on a P.J. Sanzo (5-for-15, 61 yards) touchdown pass to Chris Schroder (4 catches, 39 yards) to make it 24-0.