Newtown High School's football team's offense got into the end zone on its second play from the line of scrimmage, setting the tone for its 47-0 win over visiting Joel Barlow of Redding, on September 23.

The Nighthawks then scored on their next two plays on offense, en route to a 26-0 lead after one quarter and 40-0 advantage at halftime.

Each of Newtown's first two scores came on 46-yard explosions. Ben Mason got things started with a rush for a touchdown and, immediately after a Barlow punt, Jack Miller caught a screen pass from quarterback Justin Dunn and legged it out from near midfield to stretch the lead to 20-0 less than halfway through the opening stanza.

Finally tested, the offense passed - literally and figuratively - as Dunn had a completion on third down, and Hunter Cobb converted on fourth down and four yards to go, busting into open space for a 24-yard TD to cap the opening-quarter scoring barrage.

Newtown got back to efficient scoring, cashing in on its first offensive play of the second quarter, as Dunn connected with Matt Bucci on a 48-yard score. It was Bucci's first varsity trip into the paint for six.

Cobb concluded the first-half scoring with a three-yard rush into the end zone.

Thanks to Newtown's stingy defense, Barlow went three and out on all but one drive in the first two quarters, picking up a first down late in the second.

In the second half, Ryan Kost took over under center and ran it on a QB keeper from four yards out for the lone third-quarter score.

Joshua Dunn had some solid rushes, and Jack Kuhn and Joseph Pagett also contributed with chain-moving plays on offense in the second half. Kost and JT Lewis shared kicking duties in the win.

Newtown stayed unbeaten at 3-0, and Coach Steve George said his team showed significant improvement over the previous week's performance - a 42-19 win at Stratford.

"That's what I expect from our kids. We grew from last week," George said. "We had a great week of practice and great weeks of practice generally result in positive results on game day."

George was pleased with the play not only of his starters but also the lesser-experienced team members.

"We've got a lot of young guys out there who are getting better every week," he said.

The Nighthawks will look to continue the upward trend when they kick off the first of three straight games on the road with a visit to New Milford on Friday, September 30, for the annual Boot Game, beginning at 7 pm.