By Kim J. Harmon

As the Newtown High School girls’ cross country team continued to exert its superiority in the South-West Conference, the football team continued its march toward a possible CIAC state playoff berth and the girls’ soccer team locked down the No. 1 seed in the SWC tournament.

And as the boys’ cross country team once again fell in step behind New Milford at the SWC championships and the volleyball team fell once again suffered at the hands of powerhouse Bunnell, the boys’ soccer team found the playing field has definitely been evened out.

Meanwhile, the field hockey team recorded a big win over Brookfield to qualify for the CIAC state tournament while the swimmers reversed their fortunes with a two-meet winning streak.

Read on –

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

1st at SWC Championships

Something must be going right if a team’s accomplishment outpaces the ability to come up with a catch phrase to describe it.

When the Newtown High School girls’ cross country team started piling up South-West Conference championships like firewood for a long winter, at first it was easy – two in a row was “back-to-back” and three in a row was “three-peat” (before it became copyrighted by Los Angeles Lakers coach Pat Riley).

But four in a row?

And now five in a row?

Well, whether or not there are any cute catchphrases or clichés to codify it, the Lady Nighthawks continued their domination of the SWC when they coasted to a 40-point win at the conference championships last week at Bethel High School.

The ‘Hawks captured five of the top 10 slots and finished with 29 points – well ahead of second-place New Milford, which came in at 69 points, and Weston, which finished a distant third at 140 points – and they did it without taking either of the top two spots and with their top runner coming in almost a minute behind the individual champion.

So, how did they do it?

By running together.

“Pack Attack – that’s us,” said Elise DeRoo, who finished three-tenths of a second behind teammate Jen Brill. “We’ve always had a really small spread between our top five runners.”

The ‘Hawks had been used to putting someone in first or second, a spot generally reserved for former standout Sadie Ball. But while there were faster runners in the SWC – like Jeanne Theleen of Pomperaug and Moira Kenny of Immaculate – there were few teams so evenly paced as Newtown.

At the SWCs, the difference between Brill (the top Newtown finisher) and Michelle Brennan (the fifth Newtown finisher) was a mere 17 seconds.

“We miss Sadie,” said Moira Collier, who finished seventh overall, “but we knew we had the ability to move on and I think it started during summer captain’s practices. We’re really hoping now to make it to New Englands. We haven’t peaked yet, but we’re on the right path to where we want to be.”

The SWC race became a struggle between Theleen and Kenny almost immediately, but Theleen took charge on The Beast – the steep hill at the last stages of the race – and easily captured first. Then Kenny came across 17 seconds later and it wasn’t until Brill and DeRoo, who have run virtually step-for-step at every meet this season, came down the final 100 meters to the finish line.

And it was Brill who out-stepped DeRoo at the end, 16:38.01 to 16:38.31.

“I wanted it really bad,” said DeRoo, “but (Jen) had a strong season and a really strong finish. She deserved it.”

Sara Pollock and Moira Collier finished within four seconds of each other, sixth and seventh overall at 16:46.10 and 16:50.42, and Brennan closed out the meet and the championship by finishing ninth overall at 16:55.22. Erin Nemeth (15th – 17:18.07) and Christie Attanasio (17:28.55) had strong finishes, as well.

“We knew it would be a little different,” said DeRoo, “but we had a lot of strong runners and a good group of sophomores. One of our main goals was to win SWCs again, but now we’re on to the second part of our season and we want to do well in states.”

The CIAC Class LL meet will be held Saturday, October 28, at 3 pm, at Wickham Park in East Hartford.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday afternoon, Keegan Frobey captured first at the sub-varsity run at Bethel High School.

TEAMS: 1. Newtown 29, 2. New Milford 69, 3. Weston 140, 4. Bethel 154, 5. Pomperaug 160, 6. Bunnell 187, 7. New Fairfield 192, 8. Joel Barlow 212, 9. Brookfield 216, 10. Lauralton Hall 218, 11. Immaculate 309, 12. Masuk 310, 13. Notre Dame 331, 14. Stratford 375.

INDIVIDUALS: 1. Jeanne Theleen (Pomperaug) 15:41.59, 2. Moira Kenny (Immaculate) 15:58.48, 3. Jen Brill (Newtown) 16:38.01, 4. Elise DeRoo (Newtown) 16:38.31, 5. Leanna Jabbonsky (New Milford) 16:43.69, 6. Sara Pollock (Newtown) 16:46.10, 7. Moira Collier (Newtown) 16:50.42, 8. Erin Lofink (Brookfield) 16:54.39, 9. Michelle Brennan (Newtown) 16:55.22, 10. Laura Simons (New Fairfield) 16:55.97, 11. Emma Tobin (Weston) 16:57.17, 12. Sarah Griffin (Weston) 16:59.58, 13. Morgan Fisher (New Milford), 17:08.93, 14. Steph Tyler (New Milford), 17:14.25, 15. Erin Nemeth (Newtown), 17:18.07, 16. Christie Attanasio (Newtown), 17:28.55, 17. Kate Welton (New Milford) 17:47.19, 18. Shelby Redmond (Bethel) 17:47.47, 19. Chelsea Troxell (Joel Barlow) 17:50.48, 20. Becca Martin (New Milford) 17:51.62, 21. Sam Dougherty (New Milford) 17:56.39, 22. Jessica Isselee (Bethel) 17:57.99, 23. Laura Hickey (New Fairfield) 17:58.62, 24. Lauren Sara (Bunnell) 18:01.10, 25. Taylor Bacon (Bunnell) 18:04.61.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

2nd at SWC Championships

A second here, a second there.

The Newtown High School boys’ cross country team knew, collectively, it was within their ability to unseat New Milford as the reigning champ of the South-West Conference. Only nine days before the conference championships as Bethel High School, the Nighthawks snapped the Green Waves’s 75-meet regular season winning streak.

So, it could be done.

But it wasn’t – not last Thursday.

New Milford re-asserted it superiority in the SWC by capturing first place by a mere two points over Newtown and head coach Dave Foss can look at the list of finishers and point to a half dozen spots where a second or two could have made all the difference.

Newtown’s top runner, Zach Schwartz, was fifth overall at 16:18.93 … a little over a second behind Tim Anderson of Weston. Eric Macknight was ninth overall at 16:26.16 … a little over a second behind Chris Frank of Immaculate. And Charlie Baldour was 11th overall at 16:28.37 … a little over a second behind Mike Viklund of New Milford.

That’s how tight it was.

New Milford took first with 50 points and Newtown trailed with 52 points. Joel Barlow was a distant third with 101 points with Weston (119), Pomperaug (127), Brookfield (130) and Immaculate (174) coming in next.

Dan DeCrescenzo of New Milford was the top individual finisher at 15:55.56 and was followed in by Mike Levene and Jeremy Garavel of Joel Barlow at 16:10.20 and 16:15.39, respectively.

Scott Nichols (13th – 16:42.98), Kevin Hoyt (14th – 16:43.50) and Ryan Morrissey (18th – 16:51.66) had strong races for the ‘Hawks, who will head to the CIAC Class LL state championships on Saturday, October 28, at Wickham Park.

Last year the ‘Hawks finished second at the SWC championships and fourth at the Class LL meet and then surprised the entire cross country community by winning a CIAC State Open championship, earning a spot in the New England championships.

The locals hope more magic is in the air.

The LL race will begin at 3:30 pm.

TEAMS: 1. New Milford 50, 2. Newtown 52, 3. Joel Barlow 101, 4. Weston 119, 5. Pomperaug 127, 6. Brookfield 130, 7. Immaculate 174, 8. New Fairfield 262, 9. Bunnell 267, 10. Bethel 270, 11. Masuk 304, 12. Notre Dame 348.

 

INDIVIDUALS: 1. Dan DeCrescenzo (New Milford) 15:55.56, 2. Mike Levene (Joel Barlow) 16:10.20, 3. Jeremy Garavel (Joel Barlow) 16:15.39, 4. Tim Anderson (Weston) 16:17.51, 5. Zack Schwartz (Newtown) 16:18.93, 6. Anthony Vento (New Milford) 16:20.16, 7. Taylor Phillips (Brookfield) 16:20.55, 8. Chris Frank (Immaculate) 16:25.07, 9. Eric Macknight (Newtown) 16:26.16, 10. Mike Viklund (New Milford) 16:27.35. 11. Charlie Baldour (Newtown) 16:28.37, 12. Mike Marston (Brookfield) 16:37.54, 13. Scott Nichols (Newtown) 16:42.98, 14. Kevin Hoyt (Newtown) 16:43.50, 15. Tim Isselee (Bethel) 16:44.51, 16. Dan Watson (New Milford) 16:47.51, 17. Kyle Anderson (New Milford) 16:47.59, 18. Ryan Morrissey (Newtown) 16:51.66, 19. Dan Theleen (Pomperaug) 16:57.30, 20. Ryan Cheng (New Milford) 16:59.22. 21. Justin Garavel (Joel Barlow) 17:03.01, 22. Ryan Drost (New Milford) 17:03.36, 23. Harrison Katz (Pomperaug) 17:10.09, 24. Kevin Kauffman (Pomperaug) 17:13.42, 25. Andrew Sidhu (Weston) 17:15.09.

FIELD HOCKEY

Newtown 1, Joel Barlow 0

Pomperaug 2, Newtown 1

Newtown 3, Brookfield 2

It was more that mere competitive juices that made Katie Datin really seize the opportunity to score the go-ahead goal against Brookfield on Tuesday night.

“I didn’t want to go to overtime,” she said after the Newtown High School field hockey team topped the Lady Bobcats, 3-2, to improve to 6-6-0-1 and secure a spot in the CIAC Class L tournament. “It’s too cold.”

The Lady Nighthawks rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the match and with just 7:54 remaining in the second half, Datin found herself near the top of the circle with a nice cushion around her and a clear look at the goal. She quickly reared back and hammered a hard shot past Brookfield goaltender Karyanne Carbral to give the locals a 3-2 lead.

That lead would hold up.

The win not only earned the ‘Hawks a spot in the CIAC state tournament, but it further solidified their chances at securing a spot in the South-West Conference tournament. The locals – who entered the season with a lot of young players and a lot of unknowns – are in sixth-place with one more league game remaining.

“We were optimistic,” said Datin, “and once we played a few games that’s when we knew we could do this – we could make states.”

The ‘Hawks needed one win in their final three games to there and on Tuesday things did not look good when the Lady Bobcats scored a pair of first-half goals to take a 2-0 lead. On the second goal, Newtown goaltender Lisa Isabella allowed a shot that appeared to have come from outside the circle to hit the back of the cage but the referees ruled it a goal nevertheless.

But with 8:07 left in the first half, Sam Wong tipped in a shot by Hannah Tenebaum to pull the ‘Hawks to within one. In the second half, Tenenbaum ripped a shot from just inside the circle that beat Carbral to tie the score.

And with 7:54 remaining, the ‘Hawks took the lead for good.

The win came after an inspiring performance against SWC powerhouse Pomperaug on Saturday night. A goal by Nicole Alberico off a pass by Wong staked the locals to a 1-0 lead, but the Lady Panthers rallied in the second half on goals by Kelsey Dean and Lauren Atkinson to earn a 2-1 win.

Against Joel Barlow last week, the ‘Hawks earned a 1-0 lead on a lone goal by Wong at the 6:24 mark of the first half. The locals outshot the Lady Falcons, 17-1, in the game and goaltenders Isabella and Dana Metzger were not required to make a save to preserve the shutout.

The ‘Hawks hosted New Fairfield on Thursday to close out their SWC schedule and will host Watertown on Friday before the opening of the SWC playoffs. The traditional season-ending game against non-league rival Shepaug has been set for next Thursday.

Pomperaug 2, Newtown 1

GOALS: Newtown – Nicole Alberico; Pomperaug – Kelsey Dean, Lauren Atkinson. ASSISTS: Newtown – Sam Wong; Pomperaug – Jackie Johnston. SHOTS: Newtown – 3; Pomperaug – 13. SAVES: Newtown – Dana Metzger 2; Pomperaug –Sarah Shaban 0.

 

Newtown 3, Brookfield 2

GOALS: Brookfield – Marcy Calovich, Nikki Stolz; Newtown – Sam Wong, Hannah Tenebaum, Katie Datin. ASSISTS: Brookfield – Marcy Calovich; Newtown – Hannah Tenenbaum. SHOTS: Brookfield – 7; Newtown – 7. SAVES: Brookfield – Karyanne Carbral 3; Newtown – Lisa Isabella 2.

 

GIRLS SOCCER

Newtown 5, Bunnell 0

Newtown 4, Joel Barlow 0

Newtown 7, Brookfield 0

Sophomores Tania Domingos and Kasey Schulz are hitting their stride and the Newtown High School girls’ soccer team is dominating.

The pair combined for an incredible 13 goals and seven assists as the Lady Nighthawks shutout Bunnell (5-0), Joel Barlow (4-0) and Brookfield (7-0) to improve to 13-1-1 and secure the No. 1 seed in the South-West Conference playoffs.

The ‘Hawks allowed just four goals during the regular season and posted 12 shutouts … five in a row to close out the schedule.

In the 5-0 pounding of arch-rival Bunnell last week, Schulz scored three goals and assisted on one other. Domingos and Darcy Fiscella scored a goal and provided an assist. Megan Hansen and Chelsea Fay also notched assists as Emily Kluga earned the shutout with four saves.

This one had a different feel in the first half, though, as Bunnell – down 1-0 – scored what appeared to be a game-tying goal with 15 minutes left. But the official at the end line ruled the ball had slid between the cross bar of the goal and the football goal posts and came down outside the netting.

After that, the ‘Hawks started to cruise.

In the 4-0 blanking of Joel Barlow on Saturday afternoon, Domingos and Schulz each tallied a pair of goals and an assist as Kristi Nowak and Fiscella both notched assists. Kluga earned another shutout, making one save while spending most of the game trying to keep warm.

The ‘Hawks led just 1-0 at the half, but ratcheted up the offense in the second half. Kyla Miles did not register a goal or an assist, but had a terrific game in the middle. She had the best shot of the day that didn’t result in a goal, a laser shot from 15 yards out that was stopped cold.

If not for the terrific play of Barlow goaltender Kara Davis, the score could have been more lopsided.

And in the 7-0 shellacking of Brookfield on Monday, Schulz scored three goals and assisted on two others to bring her sheet to 18-7-25. Domingos added a pair of goals and an assist to bring her sheet to 13-11-24. Miles and Nowak scored goals while Hansen, Erica Vacaro and Jen Brewer provided assists. Kluga and Jess Halloran shared in the shutout.

The locals will open the SWC tournament on Friday, at 6 pm, when they host New Milford.

Newtown 5, Bunnell 0

GOALS: Newtown – Kasey Schulz 3, Tania Domingos, Darcy Fiscella. ASSISTS: Newtown – Tania Domingos, Megan Hansen, Kasey Schulz, Darcy Fiscella, Chelsea Fay. SHOTS: Bunnell – 4; Newtown – 10. SAVES: Bunnell – Devan Alusir 6; Newtown – Emily Kluga 4.

 

Newtown 4, Joel Barlow 0

GOALS: Newtown – Tania Domingos 2, Kasey Schulz 2. ASSISTS: Newtown – Kasey Schulz, Kristy Nowak, Darcy Fiscella, Tania Domingos. SHOTS: Newtown – 12; Joel Barlow – 1. SAVES: Emily Kluga 1; Joel Barlow – Kara Davis 8.

 

Newtown 7, Brookfield 0

GOALS: Newtown – Kasey Schulz 3, Tania Domingos 2, Kyla Miles, Kristi Nowak. ASSISTS: Newtown – Kasey Schulz 2, Kristi Nowak, Megan Hansen, Tania Domingos, Erica Vacaro, Jen Brewer . SHOTS: Newtown – 18; Brookfield – 2. SAVES: Emily Kluga 2, Jess Halloran 0; Brookfield – Sam Schueschner 11.

BOYS SOCCER

Newtown 2, Bunnell 0

Newtown 1, Joel Barlow 0

Brookfield 1, Newtown 0

 

The playing field has clearly been leveled in the South-West Conference.

The perennial powerhouse Newtown High School boys’ soccer team is finding stiff challenges coming from just about every corner – from Southbury and Weston to Monroe and Brookfield – and for the first time in several years will be entering the SWC tournament without the benefit of a home game.

Following a 1-0 loss to Brookfield on Monday – the third loss in the last five games – the ‘Hawks dropped to 10-3-2 and sit in the spot reserved for the fifth seed. That means the locals will be on the road this weekend when the SWC tournament opens.

Dave Corrigan scored the lone goal late in the second half on Monday to lift the Bobcats to the win.

The loss came on the heels of a thrilling 1-0 win over arch-rival Joel Barlow on Saturday night in front of large crowd at Treadwell Park.

Mike Klein took a pass from Brian Conroy, slipped past the last Barlow defender, and hammered a shot past goaltender Cody Hickock with less than four minutes left in the first half.

For a team that had lost two conference games in a row for the first time in nearly a decade, the win – against a team that battled the ‘Hawks to a 2-2 draw to open the season – was sorely needed.

“We were fired up coming into this game,” said Tony Magliocco. “That was the first time as a group we lost two conference games in a row and we weren’t going to let that be something we would be remembered for. We knew this would be a good game, but we were confident as a group that we were prepared properly.”

Barlow had a 9-8 advantage in shots and Newtown goaltender Danny Smith made six saves to secure the shutout.

“Barlow plays with a lot of intensity,” said Magliocco, “but we played with a lot of composure and that helped us win.”

In a 2-0 win over Bunnell last week, Magliocco scored twice – once off an assist from Aron Fay.

The locals will open the SWC tournament on Friday, at 3:30 pm, at Bethel.

Newtown 2, Bunnell 0

GOALS: Newtown – Tony Magliocco 2. ASSISTS: Newtown – Aron Fay. SAVES: Newtown – Kyle DiNicola 5; Joel Barlow – Mike Patria 3.

 

Newtown 1, Barlow 0

GOALS: Newtown – Mike Klein. ASSISTS: Newtown – Brian Conroy. SHOTS: Newtown – 8; Joel Barlow – 9. SAVES: Newtown – Dan Smith 6; Joel Barlow – Cody Hickock 5.

Brookfield 1, Newtown 0

GOALS: Brookfield – Dave Corrigan. ASSISTS: Brookfield – Ryan Derrig. SHOTS: Newtown – 10; Brookfield – 6. SAVES: Newtown – Dan Smith 0; Brookfield – Chris Smart 6.

 

Jayvee

With wins over Bunnell and Brookfield, the jayvee boys’ soccer team ended its season at 9-3-1, out-scoring their opponents 32-5 while registering nine shutouts.

In a 4-0 win over Bunnell, Dayton Horvath, Cody Cullens, Eric Thornberg and Ben Mahony all scored while Evan Kennedy registered two assists and Jeff DiNicola one. Steve Musco and Zach Dlouhy shared the shutout in goal.

And in the final game of the season, Cullens scored the lone goal with a header off a Ryan Goodridge corner kick to defeat Brookfield. 1-0. Musco made some great diving saves to protect the shutout.

Final stats –

PLAYER                        G      A    PT

Evan Kennedy               2      9    11

Cody Cullens                 8      0      8

Jeff DiNicola                3      1      4

Kyle Droniak                 3      1      4

Matt Gastonguay          3      1      4

Sam Hoagland              1      3      4

Dayton Horvath           2      1      3

Eric Thornberg              2      1      3

Ryan Goodridge            1      2      3

Ryan DiLuoffo              2      0      2

Devin Klein                   2      0      2

Ben Mahony                  2      0      2

Sean Ryan                     1      0      1

Matt Slattery                0      1      1

Spencer Scott               0      1      1

TOTALS                       32    21    53

SWIMMING

Newtown 103, Joel Barlow 82

Newtown 101, New Milford 81

Riding a four-meet losing streak, the Newtown High School swim team was in sore need of a win. And so it got two of ‘em.

The Lady Nighthawks coasted to a 101-82 win over Joel Barlow last Thursday and then added a 101-81 win over New Milford on Tuesday night to improve to 4-5 overall with one meet – against Masuk – left on the dual meet schedule.

Against Joel Barlow, Jaclyn Van Waalwijk (50 and 100 freestyles) and Jen Iassogna (200 and 500 freestyles) were double winners. Van Waalwijk (50 and 100 freestyles) was also a double winner in the victory over New Milford.

The locals jumped out to early leads in both meets. Against Barlow, the 200 medley relay foursomes of Jenna Legros, Emma Atkinson, Lucy Remitz and Van Waalwijk and Colleen Carroll, Katherine Fragoso, Melissa Carroll and Nicole Borruso went 1-3 to open with a 10-4 lead.

Then Iassogna (2:14.26) and Sarah Harmonay (2:15.41) went 1-2 in the 200 freestyle and, later, 1-2 in the 500 freestyle (5:55.78 and 5:57.37, respectively). Borruso (150 points) and Dana Djonne (130 points) went 1-2 in diving, as well, while the 200 freestyle relay foursome of Legros, Atkinson, Annie Hull and Van Waalwijk (1:51.58) captured a first-place finish.

Co-captain Abby Carnali (1:14.59) took first in the 100 backstroke.

Against New Milford, the 200 medley relay foursomes of Lizanne Kroon, Atkinson, Remitz and Van Waalwijk (2:04.92) and Marlene Kroon, Megan Baylis, Fragoso and Colleen Carroll (2:18.05) once again went 1-3. Van Waalwijk (26.94) and Hull (27.82) went 1-2 in the 50 free and then 1-2 in the 100 free (58.02 and 1:01.41, respectively) while Borruso (173.6 points) and Djonne (143.4 points) once again went 1-2 in diving.

The biggest blow to New Milford probably came when the 200 freestyle relay foursomes of Atkinson, Legros, Hull and Van Waalwijk (1:51.87) and Baylis, Colleen Carroll, Remitz and Iassogna (1:58.17) finished first and second.

Harmonay (500 freestyle – 5:57.05), Lizanne Kroon (100 backstroke – 1:09.47) and Atkinson (200 individual medley – 2:28.14) were also individual winners.

FOOTBALL

Newtown 35, Immaculate 0

Joe DeVellis scored three touchdowns and the Newtown High School football team improved to 5-1 with a 35-0 whitewashing of Immaculate last Saturday in Danbury.

DeVellis scored on runs of 2, 15 and 17 yards and not only brought his team-leading total of touchdowns to seven, but with 54 yards rushing and 67 yards receiving also brought his team-leading total of all purpose yards to 602 (100.3 per game).

At 5-1, the Nighthawks are just five points behind 5-1 Fairfield Prep for the fourth slot in the CIAC Class LL playoff standings. Southington, Greenwich and Naugatuck – all at 6-0 – own the top three spots in the division.

The ‘Hawks wasted little time taking control of the game on Immaculate’s new turf field. On the first offensive play from scrimmage, quarterback Tucker Kass fired a 40-yard seam pass to DeVellis to get the offense moving.

Soon after, Kass hit Mike Kennedy in the end zone for what appeared to be the go-ahead touchdown, but Kennedy – who had to go up high for the catch – was whistled for offensive pass interference. But on the very next play, Kass hit Kennedy on a short dump off and Kennedy scrambled down to the one.

Moments later, Kass scored on a keeper to put the locals on top, 7-0.

After IHS punted into a stiff wind, Chris Potter got another drive moving with a 22-yard run down to the two. From there, DeVellis bulled his way in for his first touchdown and a 14-0 Newtown advantage.

The locals went ahead, 21-0, in the second when DeVellis scampered untouched 17 yards around the left end for his second touchdown. A little over three minutes later, Kass tossed a 25-yard floater to Joe Bowen in the end zone and Bowen did all he could to keep his toes inbounds to record the touchdown.

The ‘Hawks led 28-0 at the half and finished things off with 8:05 left to play in the third on DeVellis’ a 17-yard sweep right.

Newtown rushed for 239 yards while Kass threw for 114 yards on a 7-of-11 effort. Meanwhile, the defense held the Mustangs to just 173 yards of offense thanks to some stellar plays by Bowen (3.5 tackles, a sack, and an interception), Erik Dreher (a tackle for a four-yard loss), Joe Greenfield (who made just one tackle, a sack for an 11-yard loss), Thomas Hutchison (interception) and Ryan Tanner (four tackles).

The ‘Hawks will continue their quest for a state playoff berth when they visit non-league foe Darien on Saturday at 3 pm. The Blue Wave are 4-2 and ranked fifth in the CIAC Class M playoff standings

Newtown 35, Immaculate 0

First quarter: Newtown – Tucker Kass 1 run (John Nelson kick); Newtown – Joe DeVellis 2 run (John Nelson kick). Second quarter: Newtown – Joe DeVellis 15 run (John Nelson kick); Newtown – Bowen 25 pass (John Nelson kick). Third quarter: Newtown – Joe DeVellis 17 run (John Nelson kick).

 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

 

Rushing: Newtown – Chris Potter 11-87, Joe DeVellis 5-52, Gabe Giusti 1-42, Tucker Kass 7-25, Jake DeVellis 7-20, Scott Perry 4-12 (Totals: 37-239); Immaculate – Matt Westervelt 7-41, Matt Macolo 7-30. Julian Christie 4-9 (TOTALS 18-80).

Passing: Newtown – Tucker Kass 7-11-0, 114 yards; Immaculate – Matt Westervelt 14-25-3, 86 yards, Matt Mascolo 1-4-0, 7 yards.

Receiving: Newtown – Bob Lapple 4-28, Joe DeVellis 1-40, Joe Bowen 1-25, Kennedy 1-21; Immaculate – Matt Macolo 6-45, Julian Christie 2-14, Nick Reverio 2-19, Brian McGrath 1-13, Conor James 1-7, Gerrick McCray 1-5.

VOLLEYBALL

Newtown 3, Weston 2

Bunnell 3, Newtown 0

Newtown 3, New Milford 2

They may not be perfect anymore, but the Newtown High School volleyball team remains one of the top squads in the South-West Conference.

With a 26-24, 21-25, 19-25, 25-12, 15-9 win over New Milford on Monday – the second time the Green Wave extended the Lady Nighthawks to five games this season – the locals improved to 14-2 overall with one match remaining.

The ‘Hawks suffered their first loss of the season back on Friday, October 13, after reeling off 11 wins in a row. The girls rebounded with a sweep of Kolbe Cathedral and a 3-2 win over Weston last Wednesday.

Then came the showdown with undefeated Bunnell.

The much-anticipated match – played before a packed gym – was over much too soon, though, as the Lady Bulldogs eased their way to a 25-14, 25-14, 25-15 win. Despite the lopsidedness of the win, the ‘Hawks had moments – like, in Game 1, the a hearty kill and a devious ace (a serve hung on the net for a second and dropped to the floor) by Morgan Knees, blocks by Christie Iwanicki, Jordyn Good and Jill Logan, and a great dig by Megan Casey. And in Game 2, Michelle Narayanan made a great save near the bench on a hard hit kill attempt which Good volleyed over to the Bunnell side to keep the point alive.

But the Lady Bulldogs were too strong as Maite Mendizabal registered 10 kills and Katie Petrella recorded six aces.

In the win over New Milford, Iwanicki had a strong game with 17 kills and 10 digs while Logan finished with six digs and 24 assists.

The locals closed out the regular season on Wednesday against Joel Barlow.