79ers Gold

Norwalk Ramblers 19, Newtown 7: In a game defined by big plays, Newtown’s 79ers Gold squad lost a hard-fought contest against a talented Norwalk Rambler team. After fumbling on the first play of the game, Newtown battled tough field position during a defensive first half with Norwalk scoring late in the second quarter to take a 6-0 lead into halftime. After the break, the fleet-footed Ramblers were quick out of the starting gate, scoring on a 60-yard screen pass on their first play from scrimmage.  Fifteen seconds into the second half Newtown faced a 13-0 deficit. Refusing to accept defeat, Newtown caught closed the gap when linebacker/quarterback JP Iaropoli intercepted a Norwalk pass and returned it 62 yards to the Norwalk 2 yard line. Iaropoli punched it in himself two plays later and converted the point after to narrow the gap to 13-7. On the ensuing possession Norwalk’s team speed struck again as they broke another long play scoring from 60 yards out on a quarterback bootleg to close out scoring for the day at 19-7. On a day when the offense had trouble mounting a consistent attack, defensive standouts in Newtown’s persistent effort included Connor Haywood, Eamon Doherty, Nick Kalra, and Iaropoli. Newtown will look to even up its record against rival Aspetuck.

79ers Blue

Norwalk Colts 13, Newtown 6:  The Newtown 79er Blue team had a rough start to the game, giving up all 13 points in the first quarter.  The Newtown team rallied defensively the remainder of the game, preventing the Colts from gaining anymore points with great tackling efforts made by Luke Wellman, Gus Coffey, Sean O’Sullivan, Luke Hannan; Chris Frascatore, Brett Pierce, Stephen Sedensky and Kyle Good. Offensively, the Newtown team made endless attempts to get on the scoreboard but just couldn’t pull it off the first three quarters of the game. The momentum changed in the fourth quarter with a key interception made by Shane Luzietti who had a 30-yard return following the pick. Capitalizing on their new found hope, the Newtown offensive line drove into Colt territory using a variety of running and passing plays with Jared Dunn scoring a touchdown from a perfectly-executed pass play with help from from Shane Luzietti, TJ Merrick, Ryan Chieffo, Aidan Finnegan, Sean Thies, Will Archiere, and Jack Stenz late in the fourth quarter.

Grade 4

Ansonia Coppers 33, Nighthawks 19: Game Captains for the Nighthawks were Ryan Tani, Jack Swanson, Charlie Asetta, and Ryan Straiton. After a scoreless first quarter, the first points went to the Nighthawks with a score from Griffin Cross followed by a Luke Melillo to Gavin Connors pass for the extra point. After the kickoff, Sean Dauber recovered a fumble, which set up a classic Nighthawk march to the end zone: Daniel Mason pounding the middle and Matthew Dubois sprinting around the edges. The score came on a determined Tucker Garrity run. Nighthawks 13-0 with 3:40 to go in the half. Newtown led 13-7 at the half. The third quarter began with an onside kick recovery by Gren Paynter. Reed Harrison had a great run but the drive ended in Copper territory. The Coppers scored again for a 14-13 lead. The Nighthawks answered with a long drive into the fourth quarter, fueled by another quality Garrity run and Cross reception. The result: a Melillo to Connors hook-up, but this time for 6 as Gavin carried his defender the final yard. The extra point was no good, but the Nighthawks had a 19-14 lead. The Coppers got the next two three scores for the win. The Nighthawks take on Aspetuck at 10 am, September 25 at Taylor Field.

Grade 5

Newtown 7, Ansonia Coppers 6: Early in the game, a 30-yard pass play set Ansonia up with a first and goal, but the Newtown defense would not yield. On Ansonia’s next series the team was able to capitalize on a pass play and score a touchdown to take a 6-0 lead but that’s all Newtown allowed. A nice return by Cayden Dunn set up the offense at midfield. On the last series of the first half, Newtown was able to move the ball down field thanks to strong blocking by Chris Faxon, Connor Marlin, and Alex Janiak, but time expired before Newtown could score. At the beginning of the second half, a strong tackle by Ethan Tousigant got the ball back for Newtown. In the fourth quarter, Newtown was able to gobble up yards behind the blocking of John Finnegan and Alex Street. CJ Shambalen bounced outside for a 30-yard touchdown run. Newtown was successful on the extra point for a 7-6 lead. Another Ansonia pass play set the Coppers up inside the Newtown red zone, but big defensive stops by Ethan Tousigant and Shale Gupta helped Newtown seal the win.

Grade 6

Newtown 29, Ansonia Coppers 0: The Nighthawks beat the previously undefeated Coppers. Nevin Zink had a 55-yard TD run, and Newtown tacked on a two-point conversion. Tackles by Justin Dunn, Scott Bauer, Bobby Haskins, and Joe Accousti resulted in a turnover on downs. An interception put the ball back in the Coppers’ hands, but the Nighthawks got the ball again after a safety by Patrick Conte. Haskins ran for a first down, then recovered a teammate’s fumble, and a carry by Ryan Marusi set up the Nighthawks with a second and goal. Zink threw a touchdown pass to Bauer and kicked for the extra points. Zink ended the half with a 28-yard field goal. In the second half, Alex Morganti kicked off to the Coppers, who took over on their own 40, but tackles by Oliver Wood, Matthew Krasnickas, John Pierce, and Haskins kept them from scoring. Mitchell Savoca, blocked by Morganti, followed up a first down run with a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, a tackle by Sam Pellicone and an interception by Wood kept the Coppers scoreless.

Grade 7

Newtown 42, Ansonia 31: In a barn burner that featured a combined 580 yards from scrimmage (350 by Newtown) and several electrifying plays, the young Hawks erased an early 13-point deficit and prevailed over previously undefeated Ansonia. The game started on an ominous note for Newtown, as Ansonia returned the opening kickoff 65 yards for the score. On Newtown’s second play on the following drive, Ansonia returned a fumble 56 yards and just like that Newtown found itself in a 13-0 hole. Then the Hawks got down to business. Newtown got on the scoreboard on a 3-yard run by Jared Pearson (16 carries for 227 yards and 4 TDs) behind the drive blocking of Brandon Hensel and Ryan Shaw. Key plays on the drive were an 18-yard blast by Pearson and a 22-yard pass from Matt Maturo to Michael Doyle on fourth and 15. Ansonia came back with a 25 yard touchdown run to go up 19-8 after one quarter of play. Newtown dominated in the second quarter. Andrew Svanda’s dash around left end for 29 yards behind blocks by Declan Sullivan and Charlie Fletcher set up a two-yard TD dive by Pearson. His second consecutive extra point kick closed the gap to 19-16. Svanda recovered a fumble on the next Ansonia drive to get the ball back to the offense in good field position. Runs of 8 yards by Svanda (behind blocks by Greg Harrison and Michael Roche) and 14 by Pearson, and a 10-yard pass from Maturo to a diving Devin Luzietti set up another short touchdown plunge by Pearson and a 22-19 halftime lead for the Hawks. The pivotal third quarter saw Ansonia take possession at the Newtown 27 after a short punt.  Ansonia had a first down at the 11 and was poised to retake the lead. However, the Hawks defense (led by Steve Faxlanger and Bryan Kiley) rose to the occasion and on a fourth down from the 5 yard line stopped Ansonia for a two-yard loss. On the next play, Pearson took off on a galloping zig-zagging run of 71 yards all the way down to the Ansoina 22. Mark Urso then made a fine catch on a pass from Maturo for an 18-yard gain. Doyle punched it in from the four behind solid blocking by Urso and Carlo Fenaroli. Ansonia struck back with a 33-yard touchdown pass to narrow the gap to 30-25 as the third quarter ended. The fourth quarter belonged to Newtown. Highlights included a 65-yard touchdown run by Pearson on fourth and 17, Sam Duffy stripping the QB of the ball with a receiver wide open downfield, a Shaw fumble recovery to end an Ansonia threat, and a methodical, clock-eating eight-play drive that culminated with James Accousti powering in from the seven behind a crushing block by Nick Samuelson.

Grade 8

Newtown 22, Bridgeport Blue 6: The young Hawks gained 173 yards on the ground and 76 through the air. Rat Rubino plunged in from the three yard line to get the Nighthawks on the scoreboard first and Julian Dunn was on the receiving end of two TD passes from Colton Smith for the other scores.  Nick Lotrecchiano got the Hawks moving in the second quarter with a 41-yard run up the middle out of the spread offense. Will Dalton contributed two receptions to help the passing game and Boots Burden completed a quick screen to Smith for 15 yards. The dominating defense stepped up to the occasion and showed Bridgeport why opponents are averaging less than 50 yards a game of total offense. Griffin Davis led all defenders with seven tackles, and a sack with two of those tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Rubino was close behind with six tackles with Tim Krapf, Shane Quimby, and Jake Lambert adding four stops a piece. Finally, when a Bridgeport back was able to get away from the D-Line and linebackers, Jaret DeVellis, Bug Santella, Lotrecchiano, and Logan Walsh were there to make the hit. Lotrecchiano also added a big interception in the first half to lead to the Hawks’ first score. The 4-0 Hawks host the Aspetuck Wildcats on Sunday, September 26 at Taylor Field behind Hawley School.