By Kim J. Harmon

Last year, when the Nighthawks beat Stratford it was such a monumental thing for them that they wanted to shout it from the rooftops of Newtown. This year, with the team having already won four of five matches, a 51-23 win over Stratford on Wednesday night became almost a ho-hum affair.

Almost.

Even though the ‘Hawks believed they had the talent to overcome Stratford – which came into the match with a 2-3 record – everyone took to the mat with an almost manic intensity and that was no more evident than in the 171- and 215-pound classes.

The match itself was already won at that point since the ‘Hawks held a 45-9 advantage after Tyler Miles pinned Pat Donaghey in the 160-pound class and, in effect, clinched the win. But Chris Symes and Angelo Bodetti got locked up into two thrilling duels that had the crowd shaking the rafters in the gymnasium.

Symes came back from a 4-1 deficit in the second period, took a 6-5 lead late in the third period, and then rolled Josh Cannatta onto his back for a pin at the 5:12 mark. The Bodetti got messed up in a high-scoring clash with Andre Williams that took three grueling periods before Williams secured the 22-13 win.

One win, one loss, but two great matches.

The ‘Hawks improved to 5-1 on the season, 4-0 in the South-West Conference and will out of the conference on Saturday, at Bristol Central, before coming back and hosting local rival Bethel next Wednesday night.

The match against Stratford started with a forfeit for Newtown at 103 pounds and then moved on to 112 pounds, where Matt Sullivan made short work of Alex Gale and earned a pin in 50 seconds to run Newtown’s lead to 12-0.

Ross Alpert saw a 4-1 lead slip away in the 119-pound class, but Eric Massen only earned a slim 8-4 win to put Stratford on the scoreboard. Dan Maley then pulled a nice rollover move on Shaun Owen at 125 pounds and earned a pin in 1:36 to put Newtown ahead 18-3.

Nick Feola, at 130 pounds, was all over James Purcell before Purcell had his head slammed into the mat in the second period. At that point, Feola held a 3-0 lead but was awarded the match when Purcell had to forfeit because of injury.

Stratford got a little back at 135 pounds when Anthony Cervino pinned Mike Daniels at 2:34, cutting Newtown’s lead to 24-9, but the ‘Hawks got it back at 140 pounds when Adam Prokop pinned Anthony Draper at 2:40.

Newtown was awarded a forfeit at 145 pounds, leading to a tough match at 152 pounds between Steve Selezan and Franco Bene.

There was little shooting in this match, no bold moves as he wrestler worked hard to find some small advantage. Even so, Selezan – who went into the match with a personal 11-1 record, coming off a first-place finish at the Danbury Tournament – was the only one scoring points. First it was 2-0 on a takedown and then 3-0 on an escape and before anyone knew it, Selezan was holding an 8-1 advantage and nearly earned a pin before time ran out.

That pushed Newtown’s lead to 39-9, which was extended to 45-9 on Miles’s win. After Symes and Bodetti thrilled the crowd, Tom Denninger got himself into a tough battle with Eugene Williams in the heavyweight class with Williams coming out with a 7-0 win.

Newtown is serving notice that it has improved quite a bit . . . even despite losing its best wrestler ever along with three other great wrestlers from last year. The ‘Hawks served a lot of notice, too, at the 12th Annual Ryan Sabbagh Danbury Holiday Tournament last weekend with a solid, third-place finish.

Danbury finished first with 2221/2  points, with Jonathan Law finishing second at 136 points. Newtown finished third at 89 points, just two points ahead of SWC rival Bunnell, which scored 87 points for fourth place. Nine teams from Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island participated.

Jon Read finished first in the 95-pound class (with an 8-4 decision over Shane Moran of Woodland, new York) and Selezan finished first in the 152-pound class (with a 10-4 decision over Jeremy Esposito of Danbury).

Nick Feola took second at 130 pounds while Adam Prokop was third at 140 pounds (pinning Paul Viggiano of Trumbull). Fourth-place finishes went to Sullivan at 112 pounds, Maley at 125 pounds, and Denninger at 275 pounds.

“The highlight of the day,” said head coach Alan Potter, “was Steve beating one of Danbury’s best wrestlers. He was down 4-0 early in the second period and executed a four-point move to tie the match. Then he went on to win. That assured us of third place.”

The third-place finish was one of Newtown’s best at the tournament.

“It was a real team effort,” said coach Potter. “I think it opened some eyes and told people that we’re getting better. Now we look forward to meeting the rest of the teams in our conference.”

Following the Bethel match, the Nighthawks will be hosting a quad meet on January 15 featuring Newtown, Farmington, Fitch and Bacon Academy. Make plans to stop by and get a look at that one.