By Kim J. Harmon

H

is idol is Tony Boselli of the Jacksonville Jaguars mainly because Boselli is the best offensive lineman in the National Football League. Now, maybe Tom Denninger isn’t the best offensive lineman in high school football, but what he has become in such a short period of time is quite remarkable in itself.

Tom first started playing football as a freshman at Newtown High and yet he played so little and learned so little about one of the toughest positions on the field, that the year hardly seemed to count at all.

But he didn’t give up.

And – with hard work – he got better. He learned the position, he started to grow and to bulk up, and he developed. Now, as a senior, Tom anchors an offensive line that has opened gaping holes for a stable of running backs (led by Kyle Tobin and Adam Hayden) that have accounted for 2,225 yards this year.

The transformation began right around the time that Tom lost his father to a sudden illness. That void left in his heart was filled with football and the spirit of two of his coaches – first-year head coach Ken Roberts and first-year line coach Tony Branca.

“Coach Roberts and Coach Branca – I’d be nothing without them,” said Tom, who was recommended by coach Roberts to play in the Novotel Beachcomber Down Under Bowl next summer in Sydney, Australia. “They were like fathers to me. Coach Branca is the best coach I’ve ever had. He’s great. A couple of months before he came, we were excited about getting a real line coach.”

And with their influence, when the season is over Tom will be deciding between a career in Division I-AA (Central Connecticut) or Division II (Southern Connecticut) football.

That is remarkable.

A Learning Process

Tom got involved with football like a lot of kids get involved with things – by friends egging ‘em on. For the first time ever, he slapped the pads on for Frank Durante’s freshman football team and quickly realized what a long way he had to go.

“I was not good at all,” Tom remembers. “I didn’t really understand the game. It takes a lot to learn. After (freshman year), I lifted a little bit and just stuck with it, didn’t get down on it.”

Although he played jayvee as a sophomore, he got in late in a varsity game, a 37-0 blowout of Bunnell, and earned his first sack. Tom said he understood the game a little better – maybe not so much how every play was supposed to work – but he was still a bit doofy rather than muscular.

That’s when he started working out – working out hard – with the encouragement of his friend Chris Rowe, one of four captains on the 1999 team. Tom got a lot bigger, a lot stronger, and started all 10 varsity games as a junior.

It was a constant learning process.

“You always have different assignments,” said Tom, who was the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete for Fairfield County. “You have to know where the ball is going and you have to know the techniques. I had high hopes for junior year, but it didn’t work out. I had a decent year, but not a great year.”

So he continued to work out and to learn.

“The number one thing has been weightlifting,” Tom said. “That has turned me into an entirely different person. The second thing has been the mental aspect. Last year I’d get down on myself, but this year I’ve learned to face adversity.”

So has the entire team, for that matter.

In the Nighthawks’ win over Immaculate in October, during Homecoming, the ‘Hawks got involved in their first close game of the season. With a slight lead at the half, Newtown saw Immaculate strike quickly on two different occasions to tie the score.

“We hadn’t been in a close game until then,” said Tom. “We hadn’t faced adversity until then. Coach (Roberts) wasn’t sure how we’d respond – but then he knew.”

Yes, he did, after watching the ‘Hawks face a 14-14 deficit and turn it into a 34-20 win. It was the fifth win in an eight-game winning streak and pretty much affirmed what the ‘Hawks had believed all along.

 “We came into the season knowing we would be good,” Tom said. “Last year, I think we had the makings of a 6-4 or 7-3 team, but it didn’t work out. We had to change the mental part of the game. Like against Stratford, we got the win but we weren’t satisfied. Going into the Brookfield game, we started looking out for each other instead of ourselves.”

This season, in more ways than one, has had a tremendous impact on Tom.

“I’m definitely going out to play hard (in college),” he said, “but I’ll never forget what this team means to me. I don’t know if I’ll have the same bond with new teammates that I’ve had with these guys.”