Duo ready to shine; Potvin, Hunt among best.

• Position: SPORTS

Byline: Rich Garven

The Shrine Chowder Bowl Classic is a final, savory taste of organized football for most of its participants.

But for a couple of players, last night's ninth annual contest between senior all-star squads from Central and Western Mass. wasn't about playing football one last time. Rather it was about playing together for what they hope is the first of many times.

Jesse Hunt, a quarterback from Oakmont Regional, and Brandon Potvin, a defensive end from Holy Name, teamed up for Central Mass. in its 14-0 win at Springfield College. And they'll be teammates this fall at the University of Massachusetts.

"He's a great player," Hunt said prior to the Chowder Bowl of Potvin, a fellow game captain along with Shrewsbury's Chris Cole and David Prouty's Justin Kresco. "It's nice to have him on my team for this game and for the years ahead."

The feeling is mutual.

"This guy is a quarterback," Potvin said. "Watching him on film and going up against him, you can see this guy can play. Everybody just comes to him in the huddle, and he has the big arm."

Hunt started his last two years at Oakmont and, dating back to the middle of the 2007 season, guided the Spartans to 11 wins in his 15 final games. He was among the most accurate passers in the area last fall, completing 84 of 142 attempts (59 percent) for 1,284 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Three of those TDs came in the fourth quarter of Oakmont's Thanksgiving game with rival Gardner. The Spartans erased a 13-point deficit to pull out an improbable, 26-25 win on Hunt's 7-yard scoring strike to Eric Howlett with 22 seconds to play.

It was Oakmont's fourth straight win in the series and the one that will stick with Hunt the longest.

"You're playing with your best friends in a high school rivalry game and you come back in the fourth quarter," said Hunt, who played the second half with a gash on his right, or throwing, hand that required 15 stitches afterward. "You look back in 30 years, sitting around with your friends, that's something you'll never forget."

The same can be said of the recruiting process endured by Hunt, which was just as anxious and ultimately as exhilarating as that Thanksgiving comeback.

The likes of Boston College, Northeastern University and UMass were attracted to Hunt, a pro-style quarterback with a 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame to match.

Jack Bicknell, BC's assistant head coach, "was really hot" on Hunt, said Oakmont coach Dave LaRoche. Northeastern offensive coordinator Eddie...