So much for tough out-of-conference competition slowing down the South-West Conference high school football freight train known as the Newtown Nighthawks.

Host Norwich Free Academy kept things interesting for a half, but the Nighthawks went on to pile up their second-biggest offensive showing of the season on their way to a 51-14 triumph on October 13.

The Nighthawks (5-0 and outscoring teams an average of about 43 points per contest) handed NFA its second loss in five contests this fall.

“I am pleased with the victory. NFA was a tough opponent with some great athletes. Our kids played hard and capitalized on opportunities. We need to continue to work and improve on little things,” Newtown Coach Bobby Pattison said.

Newtown and NFA traded touchdowns in a first quarter that ended with the score even at 14-14. The Hawks went up 24-14 at the half and pulled away in the third and fourth quarters.

“We needed to adjust to the tempo of the game. NFA was an uptempo offense. They ran a lot of plays very quickly at us. This made it hard to get substitutions and defensive calls in. We did a better job in the second half. Turnovers played an important role in the outcome of the game. We intercepted the QB three times, and we recovered two fumbles,” Pattison said.

Dan Mason and quarterback Luke Melillo each rushed for a trio of touchdowns, and Miles Ricks also ran into the end zone for six. Devin O’Connell hit a 36-yard field goal and made good on six of his seven extra point tries.

Mason had both of the first-quarter TD runs, and Melillo ran it in from ten yards out for a 21-14 lead in the second quarter. O’Connell’s field goal, set up by a Melillo to Jeffrey Garrity completion, capped the opening-half scoring. Jack Zingaro and Joseph Pagett each had interceptions to help the Newtown defense hold NFA off the board in the second.

In the third quarter, TD runs by Mason and Melillo pushed the lead to 37-14. Melillo and Ricks, who turned on the jets for an 88-yard run to paydirt, scored in the fourth.

Melillo completed ten of 17 pass attempts for 151 yards. Shea Talbot caught five passes for 75 of those yards, and Garrity had two receptions for 69.

Mason rushed 33 times for 197 yards; Melillo had seven carries for 76; and Ricks had the one run for 88 to lead a ball-carrying attack that racked up 372 yards, an average of more than eight yards per carry.

Will Swierbut had an interception, and Jack Mulligan recovered a fumble. Jared Dunn had Newtown’s lone quarterback sack, but the defense was dominant after the opening quarter. Ricks had 15 tackles, and Pagett, Mulligan, Matt Dubois, and Dunn all had eight of Newtown’s 72 tackles.

“Offensively, we ran the ball very well. We controlled the line of scrimmage on offense. Our QB, Luke Melillo, did a great job leading the offense. He has really stepped up; Luke is confident and calm. He is a tremendous athlete. Defensively, we created turnovers, which helped us pull away,” Pattison said.

Beating NFA might be a nice confidence-booster for the Nighthawks, but Pattison doesn’t consider this victory to be any more important than the others.

“This was a good win for our program. However, it is just as important as every other win. Every win is a statement win. We cannot be content at this point. Our goal is to win a championship. I am very happy where we are at this point, but we have to get better,” Pattison said.

The Nighthawks will host Pomperaug of Southbury, which Pattison notes is a team that likes to run the ball, at Blue & Gold Stadium, on Friday, October 19; kickoff under the lights is set for 7 pm.