By Kim J. Harmon

Except for one game – that thrilling rout of Stratford – the Nighthawks have had trouble putting together four good quarters of football in a single night. One thing is for sure through the first five games of 1999, the ‘Hawks have been consistently inconsistent.

Even last Saturday, the ‘Hawks put together two solid quarters of football and then struggled through a sea of holding penalties and other irregularities in their South-West Conference tilt with the Lawmen of Jonathan Law.

The good thing about it? The first two quarters were brilliant as the ‘Hawks jumped out to a 27-0 first-half lead enroute to a 41-20 win.

Adam Hayden scored three touchdowns while Sean Raby and Adam Hunzeker both rushed for better than 100 yards as Newtown raised its record to 2-3 while Law fell to 1-4.

The Nighthawks were on the move from the opening kick. Starting at their own 40, they moved the ball down to the Law 14 with a nice mix of the run and the pass. At the 14, on third and nine, quarterback Les Russell rolled out left, felt the pressure, but still found a double-covered Matt McCarthy in the end zone for the first touchdown of the night.

Brian Hamilton, the ‘Hawks new kicker (see related story, B-Four) drilled the extra points for a 7-0 Newtown lead.

Later in the first period, Newtown was forced to punt from its own 40 but the Law return man touched the ball while trying to avoid it and Newtown fell on the ball at the Law 17. Four plays later, Hayden was bulling his way into the end zone for another Newtown touchdown.

In the second quarter, a Nighthawk drive stalled on the Law eight yard line because of an interception, but the Newtown defense stifled the Lawmen on offense, pushing them back five yards closer to the goal line. A short punt gave the ‘Hawks the ball on the Law 40.

It was all Raby at that point.

Raby was tougher to get down than a Pepto Bismol milkshake. Even gang-tackled most of the time, he was able to rush for 101 yards on 20 carries for the night. On the drive starting at the Law 40, Raby took the ball one time after another and got the ball down to the 17, where he ground his way up the gut for Newtown’s third touchdown of the game.

Hamilton’s extra point was blocked and the ‘Hawks had a 20-0 lead.

It looked as if that was where the score would remain at the half. But with 11 seconds left to play, Hayden grabbed a tipped pass in the flat and had nothing but empty field in front of him for a 67-yard touchdown return and a 27-0 Newtown lead.

That touchdown proved to be a godsend for the ‘Hawks, who struggled to hold the Lawmen off in the second half.

It was because of that inconsistency thing, the penalties and the fumbles and the poor execution that have plagued the ‘Hawks from time to time. With 7:13 to go in the third, Law scored its first touchdown of the game on a six-yard run but had Newtown to thank for being in the position to score because of a bad snap on a punt in the end zone gave Law the ball near the goal line.

The ‘Hawks looked as if they would shake that little problem off, though, when Hunzeker tore through the Law defense for a huge gain down to the Lawmen’s 21. Raby then bulled his way to the 11 yard line.

But a fumble killed the drive.

That gave Law the chance, with 33 seconds left in the third, to score on a 16-yard run up the middle. Since the two-point conversion was no good, the ‘Hawk lead held at 27-12 as the fourth quarter opened.

Early in the quarter, as if Law was too close for comfort, Hunzeker took a handoff at the Law 41 and rambled his way down to the three. Four plays later, on fourth and goal, Hayden punched his way in from one yard out. With the Hamilton extra point, Newtown was in command, 34-12.

Law kept going to their big back, Maurice Davis, who had been all but silent in the first half. But Davis chewed up the yardage in the second half, almost single-handedly carrying the Law offense, and it was Davis who got Law to within 34-20 on a six-yard touchdown run with 6:26 left to play.

Just 16 seconds later, however, as the Law defense stacked the line, Russell dropped back and hooked up with McCarthy – who got behind the Law secondary – on a 60-yard touchdown pass. With Hamilton’s sixth extra-point of the night, Newtown held the 41-20 lead.

Now at 2-3, the ‘Hawks look forward to a much tougher challenge on Friday night when the Pomperaug Panthers (3-1-1) come to Bruce Jenner Stadium for Newtown’s Homecoming Game.

The Panthers have faced a tough schedule in 1999, but have pulled together three impressive wins - one over Stratford. The Panthers moved to 3-1-1 this past weekend with a 21-14 win over Foran.

Newtown will have to overcome Pomperaug’s strong running game and tough defense to win.