By Kim J. Harmon

MONROE – Okay, maybe it wouldn’t have kept Masuk from winning the annual Thanksgiving Day game, but when a Newtown touchdown got pulled back in the second quarter because of what many people perceived as a phantom clipping call, it certainly changed the face of the game.

And for the worse, at least in the eyes of the Nighthawks.

Down 14-7 and stuck in a fourth-and-long situation in their own end of the field, the Nighthawks set up to punt in the face of what was going to be an all-out speed rush by the Masuk defense (since not one lineman was in a set position). Adam Hayden took the snap and a quick step to avoid a punt blocker and suddenly found an open seam staring him right in the face. Hayden took off down the field and didn’t stop until he crossed the goal line some 77 yards later with the apparent tying touchdown.

Until the yellow flag on the field became visible to everyone and the referees pulled it all back.

Clipping.

Whether or not the call was right was open to much debate for the remainder of the game but, at that moment, it seemed to have a profound effect on Newtown. Even though the play still resulted in a first down for the ‘Hawks, the momentary flash of momentum dissipated in the blink of an eye.

Eventually, Masuk won 41-13 to secure an undefeated 11-0 record and a No. 1 ranking in the CIAC LL playoffs.

When Newtown players and coaching staff awoke on Thursday morning, they figured the rainy weather provided just the right conditions for what they had in mind – taking away the corners and slowing down the speedy Masuk running game.

But while the Panthers did seem slowed a bit, and could do little around the either end of the line, they attacked the middle of the Newtown defense quite well . . . mostly on the strength of John Galvin’s legs.

The ‘Hawks knew the Panthers would be tough . . . and they were right.

Things, though, looked quite a bit different early on in the game. On a third down play from the ‘Hawks 36 yard line, Sean Raby took the handoff, hit the pile left off tackle, bounced off, reversed field and rambled 37 yards down to the Masuk 27. After two plays garnered just two yards for Newtown, Raby once again took the handoff and bullied his way through the defense for a 25-yard touchdown that gave Newtown a 7-0 lead and had everyone thinking about doing rain dances before the Thanksgiving Day game.

But the tides of momentum can change quickly and change quickly they did. Just two minutes after Raby scored, Masuk was in the end zone on a 25-yard pass from Mike Malandra to Joe Cavanaugh to tie the score at 7-7 And five minutes after that, it was Brian Kiraly floating a 23-yard pass to the Cavanaugh at the corner flag for another Masuk touchdown that put Newtown down, 14-7.

And then, early in the second quarter, Hayden pulled off what could have been the tying touchdown – if not for the clipping. Even in spite of the call, the ‘Hawks grabbed a first down and continued with a 35-yard run by Kyle Tobin down to the Masuk 26. The drive ended, however, when Les Russell was intercepted at the one-yard line with 10:11 to go in the half.

The Panthers took a 22-7 lead four minutes later on a 57-yard run by Brady Simpson and a two-point conversion keeper by Kiraly. And then, with a minute to go, Kiraly pulled off a four-yard sneak for another touchdown and a 28-7 Masuk lead.

The Nighthawks had been in that situation before, down by 21 at the half, and came back to make a game of it. But the last time the ‘Hawks were down 21, it was to Notre Dame of Fairfield, which – at 5-5 – was not in the same class as the Panthers.

And the Panthers made sure there would be no ideas of coming back. With 1:03 left in the third period, on a third-and-seven play, Galvin – after seemingly being bottled up by the Newtown defense – burst through the line for a 47-yard touchdown that put Masuk ahead, 35-7.

At that point, all that was left was for Ralph Fensore to score on a one-yard run to put Masuk ahead, 41-7, and then for Russell to ramble 10 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the game to trim that lead to 41-13.

The loss dropped the Nighthawks to 3-7 on the season while Masuk, at 11-0, went on Tuesday to host Southington in the first round of the CIAC Class LL playoffs.

Newtown       7    0   0    6 - 13

Masuk         14  14   7    6 - 41

I.                  

First Quarter

I.        Newtown – Raby 25 run (Martenson kick)

II.       Masuk – Cavanaugh 25 pass from Malandra (Simpson kick)

III.      Masuk – Cavanaugh 23 pass from Kiraly (Simpson kick)

IV.        

Second Quarter

I.        Masuk – Simpson 57 run (Kiraly run)

II.       Masuk – Kiraly 4 run (run failed)

III.        

Third Quarter

I.        Masuk – Galvin 47 run (Simpson kick)

II.         

Fourth Quarter

I.        Masuk – Fensore 1 run (pass failed)

II.       Newtown – Russell 10 run (no conversion attempted)