By Kim J. Harmon

SOUTHBURY – A pitch out sails high over the head of the running back.

The quarterback and running back collide on a simple hand off.

Yep, on those two plays right near the end of the third quarter the Nighthawks looked about as bad as a team could possibly look – reminiscent, almost, of the New York Giants teams from the 1970s.

That’s okay, though.

It was only two plays.

The rest of the night, the ‘Hawks were as cool and efficient as they have been all season and with a 39-16 win over Pomperaug picked up their most convincing, most important win of coach Ken Robert’s one-and-a-half year tenure.

“This was a big one,” said coach Roberts. “It was the measuring stick and it was the one that would put us in a position of being a good football team.”

It was a highly-anticipated matchup, too, and when Newtown and Pomperaug got together on Southbury the two teams were about as dead-even statistically as any two teams could be.

+Both teams were 4-1 and tied for second in the Colonial Division of the South West Conference.

+The ‘Hawks were the third-highest scoring team in the SWC (30.2 ppg) while the Panthers were the fouth-highest (29.6 ppg).

+The ‘Hawks were the fourth-toughest defense in the SWC (10.4 ppg) while the Panthers were the fifth-toughest (11.8 ppg).

+Both teams had amassed 460 points and were tied for 10th in the CIAC Class L state rankings.

 

Statistically, a dead heat.

Yet, it was anything but a dead heat on the field. Once the Newtown offense got going (okay, it took almost a quarter) there was almost nothing Pomperaug could do to stop it.

Case in point: Adam Hayden (15 carries for 202 yards on the night) tore off touchdown runs of 48 and 69 yards and in both cases was initially stopped at the line of scrimmage . . . before breaking at least four tackles each time.

The Nighthawks defeated Notre Dame, Stratford, Brookfield and Jonathan Law and while the wins over those last three teams were relatively easy ones, there were those who were probably still a little unsure about the ‘Hawks.

Not anymore, though.

“I don’t think it was so surprising how we played,” said coach Roberts, “because I think we could still play a little better.”

Almost Perfect

The Nighthawks set the tone on their first play from scrimmage – a 26-yard run off tackle by Hayden. Even though the ‘Hawks eventually punted away, they realized right away they would be able to move the ball.

The second time with the ball, the ‘Hawks began to move. An 11-play, 53-yard drive (set up by a fine punt return by Nick Savino) ended when Rich Petretti rolled out and fired a 14-yard pass to Savino at the back edge of the end zone, right under the goalpost crossbar, for the touchdown.

After Petretti took the conversion in himself, Newtown was ahead 8-0.

The big plays on that drive were a 35-yard halfback option from Hayden to Savino (Hayden is now 3-for-3 for 117 yards and two touchdowns on the season) and a 12-yard jolt up the middle by Kyle Tobin.

Pomperaug picked up one first down on its next drive but, after a sack and a nice break up of a pass by Jon Werbeck, had to punt. That was a problem for them, because Savino took the punt 80 yards – cutting right, then sliding left across the field – for another Newtown touchdown.

The conversion pass was good and Newtown led 16-0.

That would be it for the rest of the half. The only time either team moved the ball was when Tobin ran four times in a row for 36 yards to get the ‘Hawks from their own 39 to the Pomperaug 25.

But after a no gainer and three incomplete passes, Newtown had to give up the football.

In the third quarter, it was Hayden’s turn to blow the game open.

After carrying the ball just four times for 31 yards in the first half, the senior back exploded for more than 170 yards in the second half on just nine carries (an average of 18.9 yards per touch).

On his fifth carry of the half, be bolted 48 yards for a touchdown.

On his sixth carry of the half, he bolted 69 yards for a touchdown.

And he wasn’t through. Later in the fourth quarter, he finished of a 7-play, 63-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run to put the Nighthawks ahead 39-8. Hayden had the longest run on that drive, going 22 yards on the first play, but Petretti added an 18-yard naked bootleg that got the ball all the way down to the four.

The Panthers drove late for another score, a three-yard run up the middle, but by then it was far too late.

Newtown rushed for 303 yards on the night while the Panthers rushed for 216 (quarterback Joe Pugh accounted for 52 of those yards on four scrambles). Petretti threw the ball just six times on the night, completed two passes for 18 yards. Hayden was 1-for-1 in the air for 36 yards. Pugh was just 3-for-8 with 19 yards on the night.

It was a convincing effort.

“We may not be the best as far as individual skills goes,” said coach Roberts, “but we are all about the team and we are playing as well as any team in the state right now.”

If the ‘Hawks defeat Immaculate this Friday night and then finish up with wins over Foran and New Milford, it is possible – if other factors go their way – that they could be meeting up with Masuk or Bunnell for the South-West Conference championship in less than a month.

It is what they have their eyes on right now.

Newtown     8       8       16     7       - 39

Pomperaug  0       0       8       8       - 16

 

First Quarter

N – Savino, 14-yard pass from Petretti (Petretti run)

Second Quarter

N – Savino, 80-yard punt return (Hayden pass from Petretti)

Third Quarter

N – Hayden, 48-yard run (Werbeck pass from Petretti)

N – Hayden, 69-yard run (Hayden run)

P – Pugh 20-yard run (Kulish pass from Pugh)

Fourth Quarter

N – Hayden, 4-yard run (Coates kick)

P – Robinson, 4-yard run (Robinson run)

Individual Statistics

 

RUSH ATT  YDS   TD

Adam Hayden 15      202     3

Kyle Tobin    14      60      0

Rich Petretti  1        18      0

Shawn Gleason         1        12      0

Sean Speer    1        5        0

Kyle Nowak   1        3        0

Tom Ryan      1        3        0

Matt Saunders         1        1        0

Jon Werbeck  3        -1      0

Totals        38     303    3

 

PASSING    CMP  ATT  YDS   TD

Rich Petretti  2        6        18      1

Adam Hayden 1        1        36      0

Totals        3       7       54     1

 

RECEIVING REC  YDS   TD

Nick Savino    2        49      1

Matt McCarthy        1        4        0

Totals        3       53     1