By Kim J. Harmon

When senior defensive back Dave Roodhuyzen scooped up a fumble and took it 18 yards for a touchdown against Bunnell last Friday night at the Stadium, it was like a bolt of lightning sizzling out of a darkened sky. It was a play that, in the blink of an eye, ratcheted up the energy level of what had been a really somber crowd.

But although that touchdown trimmed the Bunnell lead from 14-0 to 14-8 (thanks to Rich Petretti hitting Kyle Tobin with the two-point conversion), the Nighthawks discovered that Shannon James was the only real bolt of lightning on that field.

James – who Newtown coach Ken Roberts called the best back in the South-West Conference, hands down – rushed for 218 yards on 20 carries with touchdown jaunts of 24, 57, 58 and 21 yards and led Bunnell to a 27-8 win.

Heading into the game, with both teams at 1-0, coach Roberts knew the idea was to stop James. And although the statistics seem to belie this, the ‘Hawks actually did a decent job on the speedy back. Outside of his four explosive runs, James was held to 58 yards rushing on 16 carries (3.6 yards per carry). But it was, of course, those four explosive runs that did all the damage.

The first came with 6:30 remaining in the second quarter and only after Bunnell kept a stalled drive alive with a successful punt fake. Stuck near midfield, the Bulldogs got back into punt formation, but the snap went short to James, who tore up the middle of the field for a first down.

Three plays later, he raced - nearly untouched - for the first touchdown of the game and a 7-0 Bunnell lead.

The ‘Hawks were fortunate to be down by only seven heading into the half, since the offense had earned no first downs and negative yardage. But the defense was doing the job.

Until two plays into the second half.

Bunnell opened the half on its own 40 and two plays into its initial drive, James cut around the end and rambled 57 yards down the sideline for his second touchdown of the game and a 14-0 Bunnell lead.

The Newtown offense was still stymied by a tough, physical Bunnell defense. Adam Hayden – who gained 166 yards in an opening day win against Notre Dame – was finding nowhere to run in the middle and Petretti was finding no one open out in the secondary.

Still, with 1:37 left in the third, Roodhuyzen gave the Nighthawks hope. Back on its own 20, Bunnell tried a simple pitch out right to James. But James mishandled the ball and while he was hit, the ball bounced perfectly off the turf and into the hands of Roodhuyzen, who took it right into the end zone for the score.

Bunnell’s lead was trimmed to 14-8.

There was hope after all.

But on the third play of the Bulldog’s next series, James – snuffing out that hope – raced down the field 58 yards for his third touchdown of the game. And not that he needed to, but he did it again with 1:33 left in the fourth period, a 22-yard run that put the Bulldogs ahead 27-8.

Bunnell picked up 312 yards on the ground on 49 carries while the Nighthawks could only manage 37 yards on 17 carries. Neither team was able to throw the ball: only two passes were completed all night for a total of 15 yards.

Because of the Rosh Hashanah holiday, the Nighthawks will travel to Stratford on Friday for an unusual 2:30 pm kickoff.

Bunnell       0       7       13     7       - 27

Newtown     0       0       8       0       - 8

 

Second Quarter

B- James, 24-yard run (Quiricone kick)

Third Quarter

B- James, 57-yard run (Quiricone kick)

N- Roodhuyzen, 18-yard fumble recovery (Petretti pass to Tobin)

B- James, 58-yard run (kick failed)

Fourth Quarter

B- James, 22-yard run (Quiricone kick)

Individual Statistics

 

Rushing

 

BUNNELL   ATT  YDS   TD

Shannon James         20      218     4

Steve Britt    12      51      0

Gary Smith    16      32      0

Chris Rutter  1        11      0

Totals        49     312    4

 

 

NEWTOWN ATT  YDS   TD

Matt Saunders         5        18      0

Adam Hayden 8        11      0

Rich Petretti  1        6        0

Kyle Tobin    3        2        0

Totals        17     37     0

 

Passing

 

BUNNELL   ATT  CMP  YDS   TD

Gary Smith    6        1        8        0

NEWTOWN ATT  CMP  YDS   TD

Rich Petretti  13      1        7        0

Receiving

 

BUNNELL   REC  YDS   TD

Dan Walker    1        6        0

NEWTOWN REC  YDS   TD

Nick Savino    1        7        0