Trailing by just a touchdown at halftime, Newtown High School’s football team had to feel fortunate to be within striking distance of visiting West Haven, at Blue & Gold Stadium on September 27. The Nighthawks, after all, had committed a trio of turnovers that either led directly to West Haven points or thwarted Newtown’s red zone threats to score.

The Nighthawks took advantage of a combination of their stellar defense and West Haven’s own miscues — namely penalties — to come from behind for a thrilling 21-14 victory before a packed house.

This marked the second straight week Newtown, of the South-West Conference, took down a Southern Connecticut Conference foe by that score; the Hawks bested host Fairfield Prep last week.

Trailing 7-0 after one quarter of play, Newtown tied the score with quarterback Brandon Lombardo rolled out to the left and connected on a four-yard pass to Jeffrey Garrity on third and goal with 7:02 left in the second quarter.

A 20-yard fumble return for a touchdown got the Blue Devils back in front just over a minute later. Newtown drove deep into West Haven territory but an interception in the end zone kept the visitors in front heading into the break. Newtown had earlier fumbled the ball away twice, including once at the West Haven seven yard line.

“It’s hard to win a football game if you turn the ball over four times so we’re very fortunate to come out on the victorious side,” Newtown Coach Bobby Pattison said.

An interception by Ben Pinto and several Blue Devil penalties contributed to keeping this a one-possession contest.

Will Swierbut’s third-quarter interception at the Nighthawk 17 led to Newtown’s game-tying points. A pair of screen passes by Lombardo on third down, one to Miles Ricks and the other to Garrity, kept the drive following Swierbut’s pick alive. A fourth down and eight Lombardo scramble to move the chains set up three consecutive Ricks runs, the last of which was a five-yard rush to pay dirt. Devin O’Connell’s point after knotted things at 14-14 with 4:06 to play in the third.

Swierbut deflected a West Haven punt to help set the Hawks up with quality field position, starting a drive at their own 44 late in the third. The drive carried over into the fourth quarter and culminated with Lombardo hitting Ricks for a go-ahead nine-yard TD.

Lombardo rolled left, then threw across the field to the right where a wide-open Ricks made a short-yardage reception near the sideline and went into the end zone untouched. It was 21-14 Newtown with 10:52 to play.

A penalty on the Blue Devils turned third down into first down inside the ten yard line, then a call against the Nighthawks backed them up to the 21, before Lombardo and company made up the yardage and took the lead for the first time.

Newtown hung on. Pattison noted that West Haven has a lot of two-way players and the Nighthawks were able to wear them down as the game unfolded.

The Nighthawks had their hands full with West Haven QB Andre Rentas who displayed both a strong throwing arm and scrambling ability throughout the night. Newtown finally got to the quarterback in the backfield late in regulation. A group effort in the first tackle of Rentas behind the line of scrimmage and the quickness of linebacker Jared Dunn led to back-to-back sacks to end the game.

Strong work at the defensive back position from Jack Zingaro, Swierbut, Ricks, and Connor Moran contributed greatly to the triumph, Pattison said.

Riley Ward, Jack Mulligan, and C.J. Cuomo had key receptions, and Ricks and Luke Hannan carried the ball with success.

Jack Street also took snaps and led the offense as Newtown continues its QB tandem approach, but Lombardo was under center for much of this one, often called upon to scramble for yardage.

"Brandon got the hot hand, and he made the plays with his feet to extend drives," said Pattison, adding that both quarterbacks will continue to log playing time depending on the situations and play calls.

The comeback was a good confidence-booster for the Hawks.

“This is a great experience for the kids,” Pattison said. “The kids believe they can get back in the game.”

That said, there is room for improvement. A need for it, as a matter of fact, as the Nighthawks look ahead to more challenging battles, the coach believes. After a visit to conference rival Pomperaug of Southbury on Friday, October 4 at 6:30 pm, the Hawks take on another SCC opponent with an October 11 visit to Shelton at 7 pm.

“We have to do a better job in tough games because if you don’t take care of the ball down the stretch, you’re going to be on the other side of this,” Pattison said.

Newtown improved to 3-0 and West Haven slipped to a deceptive 0-3 (including a 21-13 loss to unbeaten and perennial SCC and state powerhouse Shelton).

This was public address announcer Jason “J” Edwards’ 100th football game.