By Kim J. Harmon

T

he Mud Bowl. There are people who are still ringing out their socks and shirts after spending two hours in the pouring rain back in 1998 watching the Newtown High School football team pull off one of the finest upsets in its history.

As Thanksgiving mornings go, it was a rotten one. Rain had started early and stayed constant and even though the Bruce Jenner Stadium field was new, it never occurred to the Nighthawks to cancel the game.

No, the rain was a great equalizer. Masuk, which had just won the South-West Conference championship with a victory over Stratford, boasted a potent offense with speedy running backs and a strong passing game.

Forget the rain. The game was going to be played.

Senior Grant Werbeck rushed 21 times for 111 yards and a touchdown and Sean Raby rushed 20 times for 50 yards and a touchdown as the ‘Hawks upset the Panthers, 14-6, to bump their record to 6-3-1.

Here is how it unfolded two years ago in the story published in the December 4, 1998 issue of The Newtown Bee:

 

December 4, 1998:

 

It would have been difficult for the coaches and players on the Newtown High School football team to forget some of the low points of the 1998 season – the tie with Brookfield, the losses to New Fairfield and Notre Dame – if things hadn’t gone differently in the muck and mire of Bruce Jenner Stadium on Thanksgiving Day.

It would be hard not to think over and over again that with three or four plays, the Nighthawks would probably have had just one loss – maybe none – and would have spent this past week in the CIAC Class L playoffs.

That is, if things hadn’t gone differently on Thanksgiving.

The Nighthawks were searching for some vindication, some way to forget those low points, in their annual battle with Masuk – the 1998 South-West Conference champions – and got it in the form of a 14-6 victory.

Maybe the ‘Hawks had three losses and a tie and maybe their 6-3-1 record only ranked them fifth in the CIAC Class L playoff race, but none of that really mattered this week.

Because they beat Masuk.

That’s what mattered.

“This win made up for a lot of things,” said a relieved head coach Bob Zito. “We played this like it was our championship game and the kids really responded.”

The Nighthawks went into the game feeling that, with a little help, a win over the Panthers – as strong as they were with a vaunted passing attack – was not inconceivable.

“We’re definitely capable of beating them,” Travis Tietjen said prior to the game.

Justin Tietjen added, “We have to execute and eliminate the mistakes.”

And hope that Mother Nature shows the field with a cold, hard rain – which she did, a happenstance that did wonders for the Nighthawks’ chances since the weather itself did all it could do shut the Masuk offense down.

Throw in a single-minded Newtown offense and the result was a muddy upset victory.

Slippin’ And Slidin’

The seeds for this last big victory were sowed then it first started raining.

Masuk is a truly balanced team that rode its way to a South-West Conference championship with a strong running game as well as a potent passing attack. But the weather dampened quarterback Brian Walsh’ ability to move the offense through the air, limiting him to just 38 yards passing on the day.

The field was level, if muddy, and Newtown took advantage.

It was all ball control in the first period, with the Nighthawks hogging the football for 10 of the first 12 minutes, but the mud and the rain contributed to the expected number of fumbles, dropped passes and botched snaps and the ‘Hawks were unable to score in that opening quarter.

But with 6:05 left in the second quarter, soon after a Travis Tietjen interception, Sean Raby put Newtown ahead – for good, as it turned out – with a one-yard run up the gut. The ensuing kick was blocked and the ‘Hawks held a 6-0 lead.

Another weather mishap, a fumble recovery by Scott O’Brien on a punt attempt, gave the ball back to Newtown in great field position. Moments later, Grant Werbeck rambled into the end zone from 27 yards away. The two-point conversion gave Newtown a 14-0 lead.

The ‘Hawks totally dominated the half, out gaining the Panthers in total yardage by more than 100 yards.

With a growing hunger for turkey, the Nighthawks chewed on the clock in the second half and limited Masuk’s opportunities to score. With the clock slowly winding down, it was clear the Panthers – who started to move the football in the second half – were simply going to run out of time.

John Galvin, who rushed for 78 yards on 27 carries, scored Masuk’s only touchdown of the game on the first play of the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion run failed, leaving the score at 14-6.

Time was running out, but Masuk gave a sound effort at the end. One last ditch pass into the end zone was intercepted by Raby, but the officials ruled pass interference, giving the Panthers one more chance at the end zone.

But Walsh’s pass was batted away and the Nighthawks had earned the upset they so dearly needed.