Update: Tonight's game is slated to begin at 7:30 pm in anticipation of thunderstorms passing.

There will be a lot of new faces on and off the gridiron this fall. Newtown High School’s football team not only has a new coaching staff, led by head man Dan Farina, but also the roster has a mostly new look when it comes to starters.

Newtown graduated players at key positions including quarterback, running back, receiver, and defensive back, as well as on the offensive and defensive lines, as well as special teams.

“We’re pretty inexperienced,” said Farina, noting that the Nighthawks return players who total 13 catches from last year’s lineup.

Sure, it was a run-first offense last fall, but a return of just a baker’s dozen receptions leaves a lot of room for newcomers to step in and make plays when the Nighthawks go to the air on offense.

When they have the ball, the Hawks will be led by senior quarterback Jayden Cordova who saw some varsity time a year ago and looks to help continue the Nighthawk tradition of effectively reloading its offense despite a change in the pocket. The Hawks have had a knack for developing new varsity players who emerge and rise to the occasion throughout the various positions when called upon, making them one of the teams to beat in the South-West Conference year after year.

The 2023 campaign, Farina hopes, will be no different.

“Our goal is to compete,” he said. “We’re really looking forward to each and every game and taking them one by one.”

The schedule appears to be a challenging one for this young squad — right out of the gate. The season kicks off with FCIAC team St Joseph of Trumbull visiting Blue & Gold Stadium on Friday, September 8, at 7 pm.

Next comes the first SWC clash when New Milford visits for the Boot Trophy Game for a rare afternoon start, Friday, September 15 at 4 o’clock. Newtown hosts West Haven and visits FCIAC foe Trumbull in nonconference battles. All three out-of-SWC matchups are versus state playoff qualifiers from a year ago.

St Joes lost just one regular-season game last fall, that coming to a Greenwich team that handed Newtown its lone loss in week one before NHS cruised all the way into the Class L state playoffs, and then falling to Shelton in the quarterfinals. Trumbull had only three defeats, one being a game decided by a field goal against St Joes. West Haven, meanwhile, went unbeaten until a final-week setback to Fairfield Prep.

The SWC has gotten tougher in recent years and this year’s slate includes contests against three teams that qualified for states last autumn: always tough New Fairfield along with New Milford and Masuk of Monroe. The Masuk game marks the annual Thanksgiving Eve tilt and is the big rivalry game in the schedule, set for Wednesday, November 22, at NHS beginning at 6 pm.

The Hawks hope to be thinking about the playoffs come late November and that will hinge on how quickly the newcomers develop.

“For a lot of them this will be their first big varsity game, or first varsity game, and it’s a big game,” Farina said of the week one challenge.

The captains who bring back experience and provide leadership are linebacker/running back J.J. Haddick, defensive end Jack Chappa, and tackle/center Cole Wanzer.

Key players include safety Brady Macey, defensive end Dylan Macey, safety Ayden Gonzalez, cornerback Bryan Reyes, wide receivers Jayden Taylor, Will McManus, James Hartigan, and Kaelen Schmidt, and running back Ayden Paulos.

Farina likes the chemistry of this group.

“One of our strengths is just how close the kids are, and they’re great friends on and off the field. All of them have really good attitudes,” he said.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.