CHESHIRE — Neither the cold nor a tough host Cheshire Rams squad could stop Newtown’s eighth grade team from heating up and pulling away for the Shoreline Youth Football Conference Championship, on November 19. The Nighthawks blanked the Rams 28-0 in the Sugar Bowl title tilt, using a balanced attack on offense and stingy defense that turned things completely around following a 32-32 tie between the teams during the regular season.

“This has been everything we wanted. We wanted to have a shot back at them and the kids took advantage of it,” said Newtown Coach Jay Gagnon, whose players made their last Newtown Youth Football experience one to remember.

Temperatures were in the 30s for this season-ending tilt. The Rams had the first possession but Newtown’s defense forced a punt, setting the tone for the morning. The Hawk offense went to work and drove down the field with a mix of passing and rushing plays. Quarterback Nick Stockwell connected with Henri Quirk on a 25-yard pass, setting up the Hawks in the red zone. Caden Cuomo ran in the first score with a ten-yard rush up the middle, behind great blocking by Billy Massett, Kieran Regan, Drilon Lena, Roan Baabdaty, Aaden Calle, Preston Updegraff, Sean Caron, and Kyle Albrecht. Following a successful extra point kick, Newtown led 8-0.

Newtown’s defense continued to smother Cheshire, forcing a turnover and recovering a fumble on the 25-yard line, with great play by Luke Gagnon, Graham Spencer, Lena, Matheus Goncalves, Massett, Julian Moore, Kyle Norton, Aaron Grummons, Ty Jorgenson, Devon Mingachos, and Parker Paulos. The Hawk offense got back to work, with Stockwell again completing a pass to Quirk, this time for a 30-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 lead. Newtown’s defense held tight, forcing another Cheshire punt. Then the Hawk offense clicked again with a 35-yard run by Cuomo for the third touchdown. Newtown was in command and led 20-0 at the half.

The Hawks continued to dominate in the second half, and found the end zone once again with Quirk rushing 10 yards up the middle for the score. Newtown’s defense continued to handily shut down the Rams’ offense as the clock ran.

Newtown’s players finished their capstone season with a record of 5-5-1.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.