Players who got it all started a half century ago were back on the Newtown High School football field on November 6. Members of the 1965 Newtown High team, the first to play organized football to begin the current 11-on-11 era of the game, received applause from fans at Blue & Gold Stadium prior to the game between the current Newtown gridders and New Milford.

(The Nighthawks overcame a rare deficit later that evening, rolling to a 42-21 victory over New Milford.) 

Newtown High School Athletic Director Gregg Simon organized the event and scheduled the ceremony to tie in with the Newtown-New Milford games since that was the first matchup Newtown High played back in 1965. Then a jayvee team, the Newtown High squad turned varsity a year later. The first team played at Taylor Field behind Hawley School, back when the current Newtown Middle School building served as the town’s high school.

Among the eight former Newtown High team members who attended a pregame reception and on-field ceremony was the coach, Pete Kohut.

“I think this is wonderful to see players who played for me generations ago,” Kohut said. “We all have to meet again from time to time as long as we can. It regenerates those old feelings.”

Kohut, who was a record-setting quarterback at Brown University, says the game is a bit different nowadays. “There’s much more passing today,” he said.

Art Crouch, a right guard and linebacker on Newtown High’s first team, came to the event. He resides in nearby New Milford, and drove past his old house on The Boulevard on his way to the ceremony.

“It brought back all the memories,” Crouch said.

“It’s absolutely phenomenal. I’ve thought about doing this for ten years,” said tight end and defensive end Steve Gass, who went on to play four years of football at the University of Bridgeport after his Newtown High career.

Gass contacted Simon and provided a scrapbook, program from the first game, and pictures from that era, serving as a catalyst for the event.

The former players got visits from the current Newtown High players and coaches, and were welcomed to the school by the cheerleaders holding signs they made for each attendee. They were treated to dinner prepared by the NHS culinary department.

“This whole thing is wonderful. The best part for me is my whole fourth grade team is here,” said former player Jack Shpunt, who has coached football in town for decades, since his playing days, and helped in the process of rounding up other attendees Ray Schettino, Rick Mattern, Tom Hislop, and Mike Cragin.

“It was such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our past and the beginnings of NHS football. It was a lot of fun to speak to the players and hear about what it was like to play football at that time,” Simon said. “They were amazed at the stadium, crowd, band, cheerleaders, and dance team.”