Newtown Youth Football Shoreline Conference quarterfinal playoff action from this past week and results from a friendly eighth grade season finale are as follows:

Grade 4

Newtown 13, Southington 12: The Newtown Nighthawks hosted the Southington Blue Knights in a fierce playoff battle at Blue & Gold Stadium on Sunday. The Hawks kicked off to get the game underway, but Southington responded with a big return. The Blue Knights were brought down just short of the red zone by a big tackle from Hugo Borgerding, but ran the ball into the end zone in the next set of downs to score the first touchdown of the game. Newtown’s defense stopped the extra point attempt, keeping the score at 6-0. Southington attempted an onside kick and managed to recover the ball, securing back-to-back possessions. The Nighthawk defenders stood strong and held off the Southington offensive attack, with a big tackle from Theo Prunty to stop a breakaway run. Consecutive penalties put the Blue Knights at fourth and long, and the Hawks forced a turnover on downs. The offense took the field and made two short gains as the first quarter came to a close. Prunty opened the second quarter with a run for nine rushing yards to secure a first down. Newtown continued to move the ball downfield, with a huge 25-yard pass from Prunty to Carson Edwards and a combined 30 rushing yards from Borgerding and Dean Macaluso to bring the Hawks within scoring distance. Cian Donoghue ran the ball into the end zone to tie the game, and Newtown’s run for the extra point was good, bringing the score to 7-6. The Hawks’ defense took the field again and held off Southington’s final attempts to score in the first half, with big tackles from Jack Callahan and Macaluso. A final tackle from Prunty and Parker Harriman ended the first half with the Hawks leading by one.

The Nighthawk offense opened the second half with an impressive 12-yard run from Borgerding, but fell just short of the next first down. The Hawk defense continued to hold its ground, with a big tackle from Borgerding in the backfield and a tackle from Prunty to force a turnover on downs and regain possession. Prunty sparked the offense with an explosive 40-yard run to get the drive underway. Borgerding and Donoghue followed with runs for short gains, and Prunty finished off the drive with a run into the end zone for the second Nighthawk touchdown. The run for the extra point was no good, keeping the score at 13-6. On defense, tackles from Borgerding and Logan Smaldone brought an end to the third quarter, and as the final quarter began, PJ Enright made a big tackle to stop another Blue Knight breakaway run. Despite the effort, an offsides call on Newtown gave Southington a first down, and the Blue Knights quickly followed up with another touchdown run. The Blue Knights lined up for what appeared to be a two-point kick attempt, but instead executed a fake, taking off toward the end zone. Edwards made a huge tackle to stop the extra point attempt, keeping the score at 13-12. Southington attempted another onside kick, but Alexander King fielded the ball cleanly to secure possession for Newtown. The Hawks attempted another run downfield, but a quarterback sack forced a fumble and the Blue Knights regained possession with the final quarter winding down. With a holding penalty leaving Southington looking at third and long, the Blue Knights attempted a pass that was intercepted by Prunty to regain possession for the Nighthawks in the final moments of the game. Borgerding made a big 15-yard run, and though the ball was fumbled, the Hawks maintained possession. Newtown made two more short runs, and the final 20 seconds of the game ran out. The Nighthawks advance to the semifinals and will travel to Milford next Sunday to take on the Eagles.

Grade 5

Newtown 40, Amity 14: The Newtown Hawks had a convincing first round playoff win on Sunday at home against Amity. Right from the opening plays of the game the Hawks set the tone for this game. Bryce Memoli's opening kick pinned the Spartans down on the 20 yard line, and after the Spartans lined up heavy left with five wide receivers, Memoli intercepted the screen pass, setting up the Hawks at the ten yard line. After a couple Hawks flags, Memoli took the designed run in for six and then drilled the two point kick, making it 8-0. Defensively, other than two big plays which resulted in Amity TDs, Newtown's defense shut it down, allowing very few Amity first downs and pressuring the Amity QB and stuffing their running backs. The Hawks' defense was led by Roman Filipek, Chris Tortora, Jake Cascone, Brody Boshell, James Ragusa, Alex Kokenos, Richie Bartomioli, Fabbi Reyes, and safety Jackson DiMeglio. Newtown's offense was paced by Tortora, who ran in two Newtown touchdowns and had multiple hard runs up the middle and then would bust outside for big gains. Brayden Stumpf and Reyes also had touchdowns with great runs behind the blocking of the Newtown offensive line, who played superb football. Memoli was perfect on five kicks for ten points, while Richie Bartomioli set the tone with perfect snaps to holder Tortora. Newtown will be back in action on Sunday in Branford for the semifinals, with an 11 am game.

Grade 6

Newtown 40, North Haven 12: Newtown punched its ticket to the semifinals with a commanding victory over North Haven in quarterfinal action. Behind a high-powered rushing attack and timely defensive playmaking, Newtown established control early and never looked back. Newtown’s defense set the tone on the game’s opening kickoff with immediate stops by Nick Strong and three consecutive tackles by Joey Skura, forcing a turnover on downs. Taking over on offense, Keegan Rosenschein broke free for a long touchdown run to put Newtown ahead 6-0. After another defensive stop on a North Haven fourth down pass, Rosenschein capped off the drive with his second rushing touchdown of the quarter. Newtown converted the two-point kick to stretch the lead to 14-0. The defense continued to dictate the pace in the second quarter. DJ Macaluso snagged an interception, giving the offense ideal field position. Skura pushed the chains on a key first-down run before Rosenschein exploded for a 60-yard touchdown sprint, making it 20-0. North Haven managed to break through after several downs following a tackle by Grey Antoinette, cutting the lead to 20-6. However, Newtown answered on the very next play. Skura fielded the kickoff and raced 70 yards downfield for a kickoff-return touchdown. A successful two-point kick sent Newtown into halftime with a comfortable 28-6 lead.

North Haven struck first in the third quarter after a long run taken down by Greg Lewis at the 18-yard line, culminating in a touchdown to narrow the deficit to 28-12. Newtown’s special teams responded promptly as Ethan Deming recovered the ensuing kickoff on the 46-yard line. Rosenschein took advantage on the next drive, breaking loose for a 55-yard touchdown run — his fourth of the contest — to extend the lead to 34-12. Newtown sealed the win in the fourth quarter. Greg Lewis ripped off a 30-yard run to set up first and goal, allowing Maddox Wilson to punch in Newtown's final touchdown. Wilson put the finishing touches on the victory shortly after by snaring an interception to secure the turnover. Newtown advanced to the semifinal round.

Grade 7

Newtown White 6, Newtown Blue 0: The seventh grade Newtown Nighthawks' Blue and White squads found themselves in the unique position of facing off against one another in the first round of the Shoreline Youth Football Conference Playoffs, with Newtown White (under coaches Kevin Kuzma, Chris Evans, Justin Lucian, and Stephen Scaglione) advancing to the semifinals with a victory over Newtown Blue (led by coaches Marvin Taylor, Rich Rekos, Jeff Pacuk, and John Brackett). Newtown White won the toss and deferred to receive to start the second half, with Colin Scholz kicking things off with a 31-yard boot to Chase Pacuk. Hudson Levy and Colin Doyle looked to establish the run game with blocking in the trenches by Murphy Cullen, Chase Blank, Mario DiSanto, and Shepherd Nelson on Newtown Blue's opening possession, but were held before the line of gain by tackles from Ben Weintraub, Luke Guagliano, Noah Pape, and Scholz, ultimately resulting in a 33-yard punt by Caden Kowalczyk. With the ball at midfield, Newtown White's offense went to work on runs by Kieran Kane and Chris Evans behind blocking up front from Leo Liang, Charlie Tortora, Anthony Ripley, and Chase Ibbitson, but were denied the end zone after hits by Brody Taylor, Jake Kennedy (tackle and sack), Cole Willinger, and Tucker Lowe, along with high-IQ pass defense by Levy at the goal line, signaling the start of what would be a classic defensive duel.

Taylor led the charge on the next possession for Newtown Blue, with a rush and reception from Pacuk (tackles by Kane, Scholz, and Ethan Lucian respectively), but the drive came to a sudden end after a defended pass by Anthony Scaglione and an interception by Braxton Kuzma, after which Kane scored the game's only points in the closing moments of the first quarter. Newtown Blue looked to bounce back with a score of its own to open the second quarter, with gains by Levy, Taylor, and Lowe moving the chains until Evans snagged an interception at the goal line after earlier hits by Weintraub, Kane, Evans, Lucian, and Guagliano swinging momentum back to Newtown White. Evans brought the action on QB keepers and a pass to Kuzma on Newtown White's ensuing possession, but they were kept on their side of the 50 by tackles from Blake Van Scotter, Jack Brackett, Lowe, and Blank, along with pass coverage by Nico Tadduni and Willinger. Both squads looked to sneak a score in before the close of the first half, with Newtown Blue's Taylor and Lowe's rushes building on a reception by Willinger from Levy, only to be denied on hits by Kuzma, Guagliano, Ripley, and QB pressure from Kane and Scholz, and Newtown White's Evans sustaining punishing hits from Taylor, Willinger, and Kennedy under pressure while looking to connect with Jasper Osdranus downfield.

Newtown Blue's kickoff team with specialists Cameron Gilbert and Jack DeRosa opened the third quarter against Newtown White's return team featuring Leighton Smith and Michael Shouvlin, with Weintraub returning the ball to the 29, at which point a classic ground and pound contest ensued between the two teams. Ripley, Lucian, Evans, and Kane combined for 38 yards rushing over an eight-play, six-minute drive into Newtown Blue territory, all while sustaining withering hits from Taylor, Willinger, DeRosa, and Blank, and a crucial run-stuff on fourth-and-short by Kowalczyk. Both teams then exchanged four-and-outs to close the third and open the fourth quarters, featuring fierce battles at the line of scrimmage by James Kokenos and Thomas Graffeo, and tackles in space by Austin Rekos, Lowe, and a blocked punt by Kowalczyk. With everything on the line, Newtown Blue continued to fight and drive in the fourth on rushes by Taylor, Lowe, and Levy in the face of a daunting defensive front put up by Newtown White's Weintraub, Ibbitson, and Kane. Newtown White prevailed as the clock ran out. With the win, Newtown White advances to meet rival Monroe in the semifinals at Masuk High School Sunday, November 8.

Grade 8

Newtown 35, Branford 0: The Nighthawks ended their youth football career on a high note, blanking Branford in a friendly season finale. The win was the last game for a group of players now headed to high school. Branford started with the ball, but Newtown's offense soon took over. A big 30-yard catch by Shane Lovett moved the Nighthawks downfield, and Bryce Antoinette ran it the remaining 30 yards the following play for a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Quinn Garvin connected with Liam Goulette for a 16-yard completion; a few yards tacked on by Antoinette in the next run followed by a toss to Enzo Galassi helped the Nighthawks regain some lost yardage. Antoinette fought into the end zone to put another six points on the board for Newtown with 44 seconds left in the half. Graham Phillips sent home the extra-point kick, moving Newtown’s lead to 14-0 at halftime.

In the third quarter, a Newtown interception by Cam Cronin set up Owen Cathcart's touchdown, which he caught in stride from Nate Preziosi and carried 30 yards into the end zone. Phillips' successful kick made it 22-0. The final offense drive of the third quarter for Newtown showcased a 20-yard run for Galassi for a first down. Preziosi then faked a pass and raced 35 yards for a score, stretching the lead to 28-0. Antoinette closed the scoring in the fourth quarter with a blazing 39-yard pick-six and AJ Tadduni ran in the extra point to make the final score 35-0. Newtown’s entire defense put on a show as well, keeping Branford off the board all night. Sheldon Gordon Jr made a key play late in the first quarter, snagging the runner on his way to the end zone. Cronin, Ryan Gaipa, Galassi, and Andrew Adams all tallied sacks during the game. In the second quarter, Adams had a big play, taking the QB down for a sack in the backfield, pushing Branford back 13 yards, leaving the visitors facing second and 23. Tadduni stepped up in the fourth quarter on defense, delivering a solid hit, knocking a Branford player out of bounds. For the eighth graders it was a fitting finish to their time in youth football. Next stop: high school.