By Kim J. Harmon

“Hi, I’m Bethany – I want to do the web site!”

That was Kyle Lyddy’s abrupt introduction to Bethany Morin, one half of an energetic freshman duo looking to take over the reigns of nighthawknation.com, the popular web site of Newtown High School sports. Later, he met the other half – Allie Clement – and got the first inkling that he had the crew that would nurture his pride and joy for the next few years.

“Bethany introduced herself at the diner and looked very nervous,” Kyle laughed. “They were not the first people to really approach me, but they were both very nice and seemed very interested in doing it. I thought the two people thing would be cool; since they would be new and not really know what they were doing, they could put their two minds together and figure it out.”

Nighthawknation.com was launched in the fall of 2003 – partially because Kyle was a huge supporter of Newtown High School sports (and has been since he was a mere sprat) and partially because he had nothing to do that summer. And whether it was Kyle’s effervescent spirit or the burgeoning school spirit at Newtown High – or a combination of both – the site became a huge success, a staple of the local sports community.

“I’ve known about it because of my sister, Chelsea,” said Bethany, 15, a member of the junior varsity girls’ lacrosse team. “I’ve always gone to games and I’ve been into it and I thought it would be a great way to meet new people.”

But that that point – near the end of the winter season – Bethany had no web experience. Allie had a bit of that from her web design course at the high school and she was more than ready to take over the show with the friend she has known since first grade.

“When I first got to the high school,” said Allie, 14, “I loved going to soccer games and football games and I felt this was my way to get involved and a great way to meet people. It’s also a lot of fun.”

So after the past couple of months – with Kyle looking over their shoulder (literally and figuratively) – the two girls have gotten a crash course on web management with the attendant temperamental software and score updates at 11:30 at night.

“It took me two weeks to learn how to download the software,” said Allie, but that probably isn’t the most unnerving thing – not yet, anyway – that has happened to either Webmaster.

“The first time I logged on I thought I broke (the site),” said Bethany. A quick call to Kyle, however, revealed that a supposed error message wasn’t an error message at all and a couple clicks was all it took to straighten things out.

“I’ve been putting them on a trial run,” said Kyle, “and they have done awesome. We worked out a schedule for who updates the site each day and they’ve done real well. I’m not doing much right now … I update a few things here and there, but it’s all them.”

Now that the postseason is looming in spring sports, Allie and Bethany have their web legs under them. They spend 20 to 25 minutes a night checking scores and updating results … which is not bad, considering both girls have other demands on their time other than the most important – school.

“When I first said something about taking over the site to my parents,” said Allie, who also teaches religious education at St. Rose School, “they said I was crazy. It was too much work. But then I realized it wasn’t that bad.”

Bethany plays lacrosse and volleyball and performs dance and that seems like an awful lot, but, “my mother thought it would be better if I had someone to do this with.”

So far, it’s worked great. The site is a favorite of Newtown High School students as well as alumni checking in from places like Plymouth State University, Gettysburg College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the University of Pennsylvania.

“It’s fun,” said Bethany, “and I look forward to working on it every night.”

Summer will mean a period of maintenance (unloading and cleaning out some files and links), but as Kyle moves on to the University of Connecticut and fall 2005 come it will be Allie and Bethany’s show. They won’t be flying without a safety net, however, as they have a long list of contacts who can help them with different aspects.

Plus, they have Kyle’s cell phone number tattooed on their brains.

Neither Webmaster has plans on changing the site (“Kyle has done such a good job,” said Allie, “we wouldn’t want to change anything”), but they do have plans on seeing it through (“I’m looking at this as a responsibility,” said Allie).

Who knows where it goes from here?

Kyle has been the bastion of school spirit at Newtown High (who can forget his work at the CIAC Class LL state championship game between Newtown and Naugatuck in 2002?), but a meeting with Allie Clement and Bethany Morin revealed no shortage of effervescent energy or school spirit and so things look good for the future of nighthawknation.com.

“It kept me busy and entertained during the last two years of my high school career,” said Kyle. “Obviously I think it’s absolutely awesome that it’s going to keep going. They caught on quick!”