Defensive Effort Lifts Newtown Football Team Past Oxford 21-9

By Andy Hutchison

Newtown High School’s football team improved to 6-1 with a 21-9 win over visiting Oxford (which fell to 3-4) under the lights at Blue & Gold Stadium on October 30.

The Newtown defense kept Oxford out of the end zone in the second half and the Nighthawks broke a 7-7 tie on Tory Deakin’s 64-yard touchdown run after Oxford’s third straight punt following a three-and-out in the third quarter.

Louis Fenaroli scored on a one-yard plunge over the top of the pile for some breathing room, a 21-7 advantage, with just 3:38 to play in the fourth quarter. Fenaroli’s TD was set up by a clutch third down pass play from quarterback John Fracker to Rory Noonan — a four-yard play on third down and three at the Oxford 24 — along with an 11-yard Fenaroli rush.

The Newtown defense allowed only one first down from the start of the second half until the final three minutes of the game. Oxford’s back-to-back first downs in the waning minutes gave the visitors a chance to cut the 14-point deficit in half, but Newtown’s defense made a goal-line stand and forced a turnover on downs on the shadows of the NHS end zone.

Oxford got to within 21-9 when Newtown’s Kyle O’Connor was tackled in the end zone for a safety with 1:41 left. Following the free kick, Oxford got back into the Newtown red zone, but linebacker Max Nacewicz sealed the win with an interception with less than a minute to play.

“We just stepped up when we needed to. We got good pressure on the quarterback — good coverage by the [defensive backs],” NHS center and defensive tackle Connor McNamara said. “That pick at the end was huge. Max came up huge to save us there.”

“We played good defense. We were on the offensive side of the ball a lot today,” Newtown Coach Steve George said.

Newtown had fallen behind 7-0, but avoided being shutout in the first half for the second straight week when Fracker hooked up with Deakin for a 16-yard score with just 26.3 seconds left in the second quarter. The Nighthawks, since the start of the third quarter of the 21-17 win at Weston on October 24, have allowed only nine points in six quarters.

The Nighthawks, despite finding themselves in tight games week after week, remain in playoff contention.

“We’ve fought every game. We may not come out and blow teams out right away, but everyone’s sitting there fighting the whole game,” McNamara said.

George said the key to the success of this team is that nobody is selfish and that the seniors are a tightly knit group.

“They always think they can win. That’s the sign of a champion,” George said.

NHS will visit New Fairfield November 6 at 7 pm and return to Blue & Gold for Homecoming on November 13, when Notre Dame-Fairfield visits for a 7 pm kickoff.