Visiting Masuk of Monroe pulled away to defeat Newtown High School 42-20 in a South-West Conference football clash with state playoff implications on November 22.

Both teams end the regular season with 8-2 records and await the outcome of Thanksgiving Day contests to learn their state playoff fate. Each school stood in fourth place in their respective state divisions — Newtown in Class L and Masuk in MM.

In the annual Turkey Day Eve battle, the Nighthawks fell behind 14-0 and tried to play catch-up throughout the night. Shane Walker had a 36-yard touchdown reception to open the scoring and Jason Champagne followed with a 65-yard TD run, his first of five TDs

Quarterback Jayden Cordova made his return following an injury and connected with James Hartigan on a seven-yard slant route for Newtown's first score, which made it 14-7 Masuk late in the first quarter.

The teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter, with Cordova completing a 50-yard pass to Jayden Taylor to bring Newtown to within 21-13. Taylor won possession of the ball in a tough effort against a Masuk defender on the play. The score remained the same at halftime.

In the third, Masuk pushed its lead back to a pair of scores before J.J. Haddick's three-yard rush for a TD brought the home team back to within eight at 28-20 late in the third.

The Panthers answered again for a 35-20 lead going into the fourth. Champagne's 45-yard TD run capped the scoring.