By Kim J. Harmon

NEW MILFORD – After a 41-6 loss to Bunnell a couple of weeks ago, Ken Roberts – Newtown High School head football coach – was left searching for answers. After a 34-7 loss to New Milford last Friday, it appears he has yet to find them.

A strong New Milford running attack was the biggest key in this latest loss that dropped the Nighthawks to 2-2 on the season. A 249-41 advantage on the ground made all the difference for the Green Wave.

An 18-yard burst.

A 52-yard option.

A 33-yard sweep.

A 10-yard run.

Four pretty big plays that helped the Green Wave control the game and – at the same time – bring the Boot trophy home to New Milford for the first time since a 20-13 Kansas overtime-tiebreaker win in 1993.

New Milford took the opening kick and went on a 10-play, 55-yard drive that took five minutes off the clock and put the Green Wave ahead, 6-0. An offside call against Newtown on 4th-and-5 helped New Milford keep its drive alive.

The ‘Hawks – who gained just eight yards on the ground in the first half – had trouble moving the football on its first two drives. Kyle Nowak picked up six yards on his first two carries and Kevin Whipkey picked up 10 more yards – five through the air and five on the ground. But thanks to some strong defensive work by guys like George Wurtz, the Green Wave couldn’t do much either.

Early in the second quarter, though, the ‘Hawks went off on a quick, four-play drive that took them 53 yards downfield and them their first – and only – lead at 7-6. Although Whipkey was dropped for a three-yard loss to start the drive, quarterback Tom Ryan hit Tim Byrne with a nice, 15-yard pass to give the ‘Hawks their first first down of the night. Whipkey then ran for two before Ryan hurled a near-perfect 38-yard pass to Rob Konkos at the corner flag for a touchdown.

Casey Kirch booted the extra point.

New Milford answered back quickly, however. Four plays after Newtown kicked off, Kyle Rutherford busted three tackles on an option play and rambled 52 yards for the touchdown. With 6:52 left in the first half, the Green Wave had recaptured the lead, 14-7.

That lead soon – after Newtown went three and out on its next series – increased to 21-7. A smooth 36-yard pass from Rutherford to Mark Lacey set up a one-yard quarterback keeper with 1:37 left in the half.

The two teams traded interceptions on the next two drives. Konkos, though, made his pick for Newtown on the last play of the half . . . right at the goal line.

Newtown failed to move the ball on the initial drive of the second half and the Green Wave soon went on another drive to take a 27-7 lead. A 33-yard off tackle run by Vin Pullicino was the sixth play of a the 60-yard drive.

The ‘Hawks continued to have problems and had to punt away. The Green Wave then took the ball and went 69 yards on eight plays (five of those were runs of 10 or more yards) to put the final touchdown on the board.

Although Newtown’s next two drives ended prematurely, the ‘Hawks did pick up a first down on a nifty 22-yard run by Shawn Gleason. The ‘Hawks also had a couple strong defensive plays left to make as Nick Iodice had a great stick on a running play and Brian Cascone came up with a big sack to slow New Milford down.

Now at 2-2 overall, 1-2 in the South-West Conference, the ‘Hawks will host a strong Foran team (2-1, 3-1) on Saturday at 7 pm. Maybe by then, coach Roberts will have found some of the answers he has been searching for.

NHS           0     7   0    0  - 7

NMHS         6   15   6    7 - 34

I.                

First Quarter

NM – Rourke 18 run (run failed)

Second Quarter

N – Konkos 38 pass from Ryan (Kirch kick)

NM – Rutherford 52 run (Rourke run)

NM – Rutherford 1 run (Rutherfor kick)

Third Quarter

NM – Pullicino 33 run (kick failed)

Fourth Quarter

NM – Hayes 10 run (Rutherford kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

 

Rushing

 

NEWTOWN: Nowak 3-5, Gleason 3-23, Whipkey 8-12, Ryan 1-7. NEW MILFORD: Hayes 10-46, Pullicino 7-54, Rourke 9-60, Rutherford 11-109, Grenier 1-3, Clady 2-4, Spada 2-4, Morea 1-4.

Passing

 

NEWTOWN: Ryan 5-12-2, 71 yards, 1 TD. NEW MILFORD: Rutherford 3-9-1, 51 yards.

Receiving

 

NEWTOWN: Whipkey 2-12, Byrne 2-23, Konkos 1-36. NEW MILFORD: Pullicino 1-10, Lacey 1-36, Rourke 1-6.