But Matthewson has been getting noticed more and more lately, and Berlin coach Al Pellligrinelli wasn’t the only one who noticed Matthewson Saturday afternoon at Enfield High’s Carl J. Angelica Memorial Field.

After Berlin elected to receive the game’s opening kickoff, Matthewson squibbed the ball in front of him, waited until it went the mandatory 10 yards, and pounced on it to give Enfield an unexpected bonus, which it converted into a touchdown five plays later on quarterback Pat Jubrey’s 30-yard touchdown run.

"Anytime you give them the ball and you’re supposed to get it, that’s not good," Pelligrinelli pointed out after Enfield (8-1) defeated an injury-laden Berlin club 22-6. "(It gave them) a little momentum on the home field."

"We saw them (on film)," Enfield coach Jay Gaucher said of Berlin’s kickoff return team. "They’re 15 yards off the ball and they’re bailing. It helped us out to get us some momentum."

Jubrey’s quarterback draw on third-and-4 and subsequent pass to Jeremy Kauffman on the extra point gave Enfield an early 8-0 lead in a half where Berlin was held without a first down.

After Berlin (6-4, 6-3 Nutmeg) failed to pick up a first down on its first three series, the Redcoats went to the quarterback option with success; scintillating halfback Joel Hartunian took P.J. Sanzo’s pitchout at his 29, juked a defender, cut outside, and raced down the left sideline for a 71-yard touchdown run. Sanzo’s extra point try was cut short, leaving Enfield with an 8-6 lead.

Immediately after the touchdown, Enfield went 55 yards in just five plays as Jubrey’s 23-yard completion to Mike Dalenta made it 15-6 after Matthewson converted the PAT.

"Jubrey does a great job distributing the ball," Gaucher said of the junior, who was 5-for-7 in the first half. "He’s really one of our leaders on the team."

Pelligrinelli refused to use injuries as an excuse, but ticked off a number of players who missed time due to injury, forcing Sanzo and sophomore Nick Roeter to see their first extensive action in the secondary. Brian Guite left the game with an apparent leg injury among other myriad bumps.

"They picked on our two new defensive backs," Pelligrinelli said crediting the pair’s effort. "They’re working hard out there. I couldn’t ask our defense to play any better than (it) did."

Despite the inexperience - when Guite was injured, his teammates had to tell his replacement the defensive assignments in the huddle - Berlin held Enfield to 179 yards offense in the game, a mere 39 in the second half, and it was in the second half that Enfield’s defense responded to Berlin’s offensive thrusts.

The Redocats engineered their best drive of the day, driving 31 yards to Enfield’s 44 where the Redcoats faced a third-and-4, but linebacker Mike Anagnostou broke through and sacked Sanzo for an 11-yard loss, quelling Berlin’s threat.

"At halftime, he said ‘Coach, I could shoot that gap,’" Gaucher said of Anagnostou. "It was a big play for us."

It fired up the Raiders, and senior Nick Dugan intercepted passes to end both of Berlin’s next two drives, frustrating Berlin, which gained 130 yards on the day - 71 on Hartunian’s second quarter run.

"They’re a good defensive team," Pelligrinelli said. "We thought we could do a little option work. They made an adjustment to that. We thought we could throw the ball outside a little bit. They made an adjustment to that. That’s why they’re 8-1."