By Kim J. Harmon

It was more than just a scrimmage.

When a clipping penalty near the sidelines engendered a bit of tussle on the field, it was clear that the Newtown High School football players were taking seriously the annual Blue & Gold Scrimmage at Bruce Jenner Stadium on Saturday night.

But that’s how coach Ken Roberts and his staff would have liked it, anyway, since the game puts the final emphasis on some 10 days of spring football practice and gives the younger players a chance to show what kind of stuff they have for the 2000 fall season.

And coach Roberts saw some pretty good stuff.

In a game in which the Gold team won 12-0, coach Roberts saw his expected starting quarterback, Rich Petretti, throw with more zip on the ball and he also saw a quarterback in the making, as young – and tall – Tom Ryan showed some movement, some awareness, and a pretty good arm.

Then there was Matt Saunders grinding it out hard in the running game and Pete Engel showing a nice burst of speed on a four-yard touchdown run. There was also Matt McCarthy and his enormous presence on the field as he caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Petretti.

The Nighthawks finished 3-7 a year ago and coach Roberts hopes to take a big step forward. He will have to do it, however, without one his starting quarterbacks, Les Russell, and his mainstay running back, Sean Raby.

But there was enough talent on the field to no doubt make him think the ‘Hawks can indeed still take that step forward.

The Newtown Blue and Gold Booster Club, in a cracklin’ finale to the festivities, burned the mortgage on the concession stand/light project which it has so valiantly – with the overwhelming support from hundreds of local residents and businesses – fought to pay off.

A plaque was hanging on the concession stand last Saturday night listing the many donors who helped make the enormous project a reality.