By Kim J. Harmon

With a chance to strike a blow against their arch-rivals from Monroe, the Newtown High School girls’ and boys’ soccer teams came out … well, even.

In funny little happenstance, on fields a mere 7.1 miles apart, both the girls’ and boys’ had double-overtime draws with their Masuk counterparts – in Newtown it was 0-0 for the girls and in Monroe it was 1-1 for the boys.

Now, that’s not as incredible a coincidence as the school basketball scoring records being broken on the same night as they were a few years ago, but it was quirky little coincidence nevertheless.

Meanwhile …

The football team pounded Bethel as Tucker Kass threw a pair of touchdown passes; the cross country teams remained undefeated and had first-place finishes at the 26th annual Bethel Invitational; the volleyball team remained undefeated, as well; the swimmers dropped their third meet in a row; and the field hockey team made it two in a row with a shutout of Bethel.

Read on –

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

First at Bethel Invitational

Newtown 16, Bethel 47; Newtown 15, New Fairfield 48

It probably wouldn’t be considered an epic race, but it did have two of the top runners in the state going at it hammer and tong.

Zach Schwartz of Newtown and Mike Levene of Joel Barlow took charge at the 26th annual Bethel Invitational cross country meet inside the first quarter mile and kept up a strong pace on the tough Bethel course. And Schwartz – one of Newtown’s top returnees of a 2005 CIAC State Open championship – led Levene for much of the race, but losing it near the top of the hill known as The Beast.

Levene had an extra kick inside the stadium for the last 100 yards or so and took first at 15:58 with Schwartz cruising in second at 16:16.

Despite that, the Nighthawks, as a team, dominated the Invitational and took first with 255 points, well ahead of Staples (312), Cheshire (363) and South-West Conference foe Pomperaug (388).

“I’m happy with the way things went in Bethel,” said head coach Dave Foss, whose team is ranked fourth in the coaches’ poll at mysportsresults.com. “I’ll take first over a kick-out any day. We haven’t been tested yet – but we will be on Saturday at Wickham.”

With a sweep of Bethel and New Fairfield on Tuesday afternoon at Fairfield Hills, the ‘Hawks have improved to 10-0 with one regular season meet remaining.

“We lost three seniors,” said coach Foss, “and Alister (Ratcliff) was the one who would be really hard to replace. But Charlie (Baldour) came back healthy and the rest of the guys have gotten better. Plus we have some good depth to counteract the loss of (Matt) Cole and (Jake) Sullivan.”

Baldour finished fifth overall at the Bethel Invitational at 16:29 and was followed in by Eric Macknight in sixth at 16:32. Scott Nichols (10th – 16:51) and Kevin Hoyt (11th – 16:56) also had strong finishes in a race that scored through the ninth runner of each team.

SWC rival New Milford, hobbled, finished fifth with 500 points while other SWC foes Joel Barlow (585), Brookfield (674), Immaculate (983), Bethel (1,046) and New Fairfield (1,059) finished well off the pace.

The ‘Hawks will travel to Manchester on Saturday for the championship race of the annual Wickham Invitational. They will close out the 2006 regular season next week when they travel to New Milford to battle New Milford and Notre Dame.

Bethel Invitational

TEAMS: 1. Newtown 255, 2. Staples 312, 3. Cheshire 363, 4. Pomperaug 388, 5. New Milford 500, 6. Joel Barlow 585, 7. Fairfield Prep 656, 8. Brookfield 674, 9. Xavier 723, 10. Greenwich 773, 11. Foran 886, 12. Immaculate 983, 13. Bethel 1046, 14. New Fairfield 1059, 15. Wilton 1093, 16. Jonathan Law 1226.

INDIVIDUALS: 1. Mike Levene (Joel Barlow) 15:58, 2. Zach Schwartz (Newtown) 16:16, 3. Jeremy Garavel (Joel Barlow) 16:23, 4. Taylor Phillips (Brookfield) 16:28, 5. Charlie Baldour (Newtown) 16:29, 6. Eric Macknight (Newtown) 16:32, 7. Chris Frank (Immaculate) 16:34, 8. Tim Isselee (Bethel) 16:48, 9. Mike Marston (Brookfield) 16:48, 10. Scott Nichols (Newtown) 16:51, 11. Kevin Hoyt (Newtown) 16:56, 12. Justin Garavel (Joel Barlow) 16:59, 13. Dan Le (Cheshire) 17:00, 14. Chris Esposito (Staples) 17:07, 15. Roger Conarroe (Greenwich) 17:07, 16. Tyler Prince (Staples) 17:08, 17. Alex Petersen (Staples) 17:14, 18. Dan Theleen (Pomperaug) 17:18, 19. Kevin Tiernan (Jonathan Law) 17:21, 20. Will Trumbo (Cheshire) 17:22, 21. Frank Stewart (New Milford) 17:25, 22. Jason DeLucia (New Fairfield) 17:26, 23. Walker Jenkins (Wilton) 17:27, 24. Matthew Hurtt (Xavier) 17:30, 25. James Moen (Brookfield) 17:32.

COURSE: 3.0 miles.

 

Newtown 16, Bethel 47; Newtown 15, New Fairfield 48

INDIVIDUALS: 1. Zack Schwartz (N) 16:49, 2. Charlie Baldour (N) 17:24, 3. Eric Macknight (N) 17:25, 4. Kevin Hoyt (N) 17:45, 5. Tim Isselee (B) 17:50, 6. Scott Nichols (N) 17:55, 7. J. Delvein (NF) 18:02, 8. Jordan Reed (N) 19:00, 9. Kevin Donahue (N) 19:02, 10. B. DeFabio (NF) 19:13, 11. E. Bosle (NF) 19:14, 12. Greg Hill (N) 19:37, 13. David Meyer (N) 19:49, 14. J. Marchwin (B) 19:51, 15. S. Otgy (NF) 19:59. COURSE: 3.1 miles at Newtown.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

First at Bethel Invitational

Newtown 18, New Fairfield 43; Newtown 15, Bethel 50

Jen Brill crossed the finish line at the 26th annual Bethel Invitational more than a minute after Jeanne Theleen of Pomperaug (who set a new course record) and Moira Kenny of Immaculate but that hardly seemed to matter as the Newtown High School girls’ cross country team easily surpassed E.O. Smith and New Milford for first place.

The Lady Nighthawks scored 146 points … 30 fewer than the Lady Panthers and 53 fewer than the Green Wave.

How did they do it?

The front line may not be able to keep up with the likes of Theleen or Kenny, but what the ‘Hawks have is incredible depth. After Brill finished sixth, the Newtown packes began to cross – with Elise DeRoo and Moira Collier coming in 10th and 11th, Michelle Brennan and Sara Pollock coming in 13th and 14th, and Christy Attanasio and Erin Nemeth coming in 21st and 22nd.

Depth.

With an easy sweep of Bethel and New Fairfield on Tuesday afternoon at Fairfield Hills, the Lady Nighthawks have improved to 10-0. They will travel to Manchester this weekend for the annual Wickham Invitational and will take on New Milford and Notre Dame next week to close out the 2006 regular season.

Bethel Invitational

TEAMS: 1. Newtown 146, 2. E.O. Smith 176, 3. New Milford 199, 4. Staples 368, 5. Pomperaug 522, 6. Bethel 547, 7. Greenwich 647, 8. Danbury 674, 9. Notre Dame 706, 10. Brookfield 710, 11. Jonathan Law 726.

INDIVIDUALS: 1. Jeanne Theleen (Pomperaug) 15:36, 2. Moira Kenny (Immaculate) 15:39, 3. Kate Moynihan (E.O. Smith) 16:35, 4. Christina Fisher (E.O. Smith) 16:40, 5. Leanna Jabbonsky (New Milford) 16:40, 6. Jen Brill (Newtown) 16:45, 7. Grace Lu (E.O. Smith) 16:48, 8. Laura Simons (New Fairfield) 16:57, 9. Stephany Sabio (Danbury) 17:00, 10. Elise DeRoo (Newtown) 17:00, 11. Moira Collier (Newtown) 17:06, 12. Marlena Supina (E.O. Smith) 17:08, 13. Michelle Brennan (Newtown) 17:14, 14. Sara Pollock (Newtown) 17:16, 15. Alicia Kaestli (Staples) 17:20, 16. Morgan Fisher (New Milford) 17:26, 17. Kelsie Meehan (Foran) 17:40, 18. Erin Lofink (Brookfield) 17:41, 19. Eryn Macklin (Foran) 17:41, 20. Elizabeth LaRegina (New Fairfield) 17:46, 21. Christy Attanasio (Newtown) 17:47, 22. Erin Nemeth (Newtown) 17:51, 23. Stephanie Tyler (New Milford) 17:55, 24. Emma Kiefer (Joel Barlow) 17:57, 25. Amanda Hickok (Staples) 17:58.

COURSE: 2.5 miles.

 

Newtown 18, New Fairfield 43; Newtown 15, Bethel 50

INDIVIDUALS: 1. Elise DeRoo (N) 17:10, 2. Jen Brill (N) 17:13, 3. Laura Simons (NF) 17:35, 4. Michelle Brennan (N) 17:38, 5. Moira Collier (N) 17:50, 6. Sara Pollock (N) 17:52, 7. Christy Attanasio (N) 17:52, 8. L. Laragina (NF) 18:00, 9. L. Hickey (NF) 18:38, 10. Keegan Frobey (N) 18:38, 11. H. Greenwood (B) 18:39, 12. Jess Isselee (B) 18:47, 13. Andie Maret (N) 19:14, 14. Carolyn Gingras (N) 19:17, 15. A. Keller (NF) 19:23. COURSE: 2.55 miles at Newtown.

FOOTBALL

Newtown 35, Bethel 7

It was like granddad taking junior out behind the woodshed.

The South-West Conference gridiron battle between Newtown and Bethel High Schools last Saturday in Bethel was over almost before it began as the Nighthawks – by virtue of a dominating 35-7 win over the Wildcats – improved to 3-0 with their toughest test of the season, Bunnell, coming up on Friday night.

Last Saturday, the ‘Hawks won the toss and deferred until the second half – but then started the game off by pouncing on an onsides kick. A minute later, quarterback Tucker Kass hooked up with Joe DeVellis on a 41-yard touchdown pass and the ‘Hawks were on their way.

Chris Potter (who rushed eight times for a team-high 55 yards) went 11 yards for a touchdown about two minutes later and about four minutes after that Kass hit Joe Bowen with a 21-yard touchdown pass to put the ‘Hawks on top, 21-0.

Kass was 6-of-10 for 130 yards and a pair of scores on the afternoon.

With 13 seconds left in the opening period, the Wildcats got a little something back when quarterback Randy Lienhardt hit Junior Ducatel with a 10-yard touchdown pass to trim the Newtown lead back to 14.

But from there, it was all Nighthawks.

With 7:16 left in the half, Max Reed picked off a pass – first deflecting it in the air and then securing it – and went 50 yards for a touchdown and about two minutes later that Cody Shpunt was bulling his way in from the one-yard tine to stake the ‘Hawks to a 35-7 lead.

That’s how the game went into the half … and that’s how it ended. Newtown had just 259 total yards – 129 on the ground and 130 through the air. Bethel had 236 total yards, most of that on the ground (178) and most of it in the second half.

Newtown 35, Bethel 7

First Quarter: Newtown – Joe DeVellis 41 pass from Tucker Kass (Nelson kick); Newtown – Chris Potter 11 run (Nelson kick); Newtown – Joe Bowen 21 pass (Nelson kick); Bethel – Junior Ducatel 10 pass from Randy Lienhardt (Lienhardt kick). Second Quarter: Newtown – Max Reed 50 interception return (Nelson kick); Cody Shpunt 1 run (Nelson kick).

 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: Newtown – Chris Potter 8-55, Jake Devellis 5-35, Brian Reszoly 3-22, Scott Perry 4-22, Tucker Kass 3-9, Tyler Tarantino 2-1, Joe DeVellis 1-0; Bethel – Manny Cambra 17-123, Randy Lienhardt 5-21, Keith Cocheran 4-16, Alex Almonte 8-16, Mike Kaptein 5-2. Passing: Newtown – Tucker Kass 6-10-0, 130 yards, Jake DeVellis 0-2-0, Charlie Lobosco 0-0-0; Bethel – Randy Lienhardt 5-15-1, 47 yards, Manny Cambra 1-5-0, 10 yards, Matt Witcofsky 0-0-0, minus 9 yards. Receiving: Newtown – Joe DeVellis 3-84, Bob Lapple 2-28, Joe Bowen 1-19; Bethel – Tyler Mahoney 1-23, Manny Cambra 2-12, Alex Almonte 1-12, Junior Ducatel 1-10, Ryan Markward 1-10.

GIRLS SOCCER

Newtown 7, Notre Dame 1

Newtown 0, Masuk 0 (OT)

Okay, it wasn’t a win. It was a scoreless tie. But the effort on Tuesday night sure was a darn sight better than the last time the Newtown High School girls’ soccer team squared off with Masuk.

“We definitely should have won this,” said sophomore Kasey Schulz. “We put a lot of effort in and wanted it really bad. It’s really frustrating because (the schools) have been rivals for so long.”

Through 80 minutes of regulation and 10 minutes of overtime, the two arch-rivals tussled at Blue & Gold Stadium in a battle that was largely fought in the midfield. Occasionally, one team would pressure the goal and both combined for 15 shots on the night … yet goaltenders Emily Kluga of Newtown (four saves) and Hillary Singer of Masuk (seven saves) were scarcely challenged.

The Lady Nighthawks amped up the pressure in overtime and a header sneak past the goal but ultimately the nets remained untouched.

“That first game (with Masuk) motivation for me,” said Schulz, who has two goals and two assists for a team-high four points on the season, “because of what they did to us. We know we can play much better than we have.”

With the tie and a 7-1 win over Notre Dame last week, the ‘Hawks improved to 5-1-1 on the season. In the win over the Lady Lancers, Tania Domingos had a pair of goals and a pair of assists while Kirsten Hudock had two goals. Brittany Papaj added a goal and two assists as Ally Modzelewski and Monica Warek each had a goal and an assist.

Kluga and Jess Halloran combined in the net and needed to make just three saves.

The ‘Hawks hit the road and took on Stratford on Thursday before heading down to Danbury to battle Immaculate on Saturday. They will return home next week to host Pomperaug and Weston.

Newtown 7, Notre Dame 1

GOALS: Newtown – Tania Domingos 2, Kirsten Hudock 2, Monica Warek, Brittany Papaj, Ally Modzelewski; Notre Dame – Caitlyn Mawicke. ASSISTS: Newtown – Tania Domingos 2, Brittany Papaj 2, Monica Warek, Ally Modzelewski; Notre Dame – Crystal Quinonis. SHOTS: Newtown – 13; Notre Dame – 4. SAVES: Newtown – Emily Kluga 2, Jessica Halloran 1; Notre Dame – Megan Carrion 7.

 

Newtown 0, Masuk 0 (OT)

SHOTS: Masuk – 9; Newtown – 6. SAVES: Masuk – Hillary Singer 2; Newtown – Emily Kluga 4.

BOYS SOCCER

Newtown 3, Notre Dame 0

Newtown 1, Masuk 1

No one has been able to explain it, but wins have been awfully hard to come on the Masuk High School football field for any Newtown team.

But the boys’ soccer side was three minutes away from capturing one of those elusive wins on Tuesday night when John Chernesky banged in a shot off an assist from Tim McGowan with three minutes left to play to erase a 1-0 Newtown lead.

The ‘Hawks had taken that lead off a first-half goal by Brian Conroy. Mike Klein earned the assist on the play.

It was a bit of an offensive battle with the two teams combining for 29 shots. Newtown goaltender Danny Smith needed to made just six saves, though. Masuk goaltender Justin Swann and Don Martinelli combined to make seven saves.

With the tie, the Nighthawks moved to 6-0-2 on the year.

Last week, the locals pounded Notre Dame, 3-0, at Treadwell Park. With most of the bench players getting a chance to start, the first half remained scoreless for a while before Nick Sando finally broke the ice with his fourth goal of the season. Then Mike Klein and Mike Vontobel followed suit with Tony Magliocco (two) and Andrew Domingos being credited with the assists.

The locals hosted Stratford on Thursday and will host Immaculate on Saturday at the stadium (opening kick at 7 pm). They will hit the road next Tuesday to battle Pomperaug.

Newtown 3, Notre Dame 0

GOALS: Newtown – Nick Sando, Mike Klein, Mike Vontobel. ASSISTS: Newtown – Tony Magliocco 2, Andrew Domingos.. SAVES: Newtown – Kyle DiNicola 1; Notre Dame – Hubert Morin 18.

 

Newtown 1, Masuk 1

GOALS: Newtown – Brian Conroy; Masuk – John Chernesky. ASSISTS: Newtown – Michael Klein; Masuk – Tim McGowan. SHOTS: Newtown – 12; Masuk – 17. SAVES: Newtown – Danny Smith 6; Masuk – Justin Swann 3, Don Martinelli 4.

Junior Varsity

Evan Kennedy scored the lone goal to lift the junior varsity squad to a recent 1-0 win over Masuk. Goalies Steven Musco and Zach Dlouhy had to make some great saves to protect the shutout in the close match up.

The jayvees followed up with a 1-0 win over Bethel on a goal by Cody Cullens off an assist by Kennedy. Musco and Dlouhy once again teamed up for the shutout in goal.

And in a return engagement with Masuk, Newtown dueled its rival to a 1-1 draw. Ryan Goodridge bent a corner kick over the goaltender’s head for a second-half goal to help the Nighthawks erase a 1-0 deficit. Musco was solid in goal.

FIELD HOCKEY

Newtown 2, Bethel 0

The pressure has eased a bit on the Newtown High School field hockey team.

And it has responded.

After starting out the 2006 season on a brutal path through New Milford, Pomperaug and Brookfield the Lady Nighthawks – who dropped all three of those games – have found a softer part of their schedule and have made the most of it.

With a thrilling 2-1 win over New Fairfield and a 2-0 win over Bethel last week, the ‘Hawks have improved to 2-3-0 on the season.

In the win over Bethel which entered the contest with a 4-1 mark – both Newtown goals came in the second half. Co-captain Sam Wong snapped the scoreless tie early in the half off an assist by Hannah Tenenbaum and then Wong assisted on a later goal by fellow co-captain Katie Datin. Goaltender Lisa Isabella made six stops in the cage for the shutout.

The ‘Hawks took 15 shots and had 16 penalty corners in a dominating performance.

The locals battled Immaculate on Thursday and will made the long ride down I-95 to take on traditional non-conference opponent Haddam-Killingworth.

Newtown 2, Bethel 0

GOALS: Newtown – Sam Wong, Katie Datin. ASSISTS: Newtown – Hannah Tenenbaum, Sam Wong. SHOTS: Bethel – 6; Newtown – 15. SAVES: Bethel – Bray Ferguson 3; Newtown – Lisa Isabella 6. PENALTY CORNERS: Bethel – 6; Newtown – 16.

VOLLEYBALL

Newtown 3, Brookfield 0

Newtown 3, Lauralton Hall 1

There will come a time when the Newtown High School volleyball team is challenged again on the court.

But not right now.

The Lady Nighthawks improved to 7-0 with a 3-0 win over Brookfield last Wednesday and a 3-1 win over Lauralton Hall last Friday. Three of their seven wins have been sweeps and the ‘Hawks have only had to go to a fifth game once, back on September 15, when they nipped New Milford.

In the 25-11, 25-19, 25-21 win over Brookfield, Emily Loose registered eight kills while Christie Iwanicki added six more and Megan Casey chipped in with four. Casey and Loose combined for seven service aces while Iwanicki added eight digs.

In the 26-28, 25-13, 25-20, 25-20 win over Lauralton Hall, the ‘Hawks rebounded from a first-game lapse as Morgan Knees recorded five blocks and six kills and the net. Jordyn Good added four service aces, five kills and nine kills.

The locals were in Southbury on Wednesday to take on struggling Pomperaug and will be in Milford on Friday to take on Notre Dame before returning home next Tuesday to host New Fairfield. The girls will hit the road the following night for a return engagement with Masuk.

SWIMMING

Weston over Newtown

The Newtown High School swim team continues to explore unfamiliar territory, dropping its third meet in a row and fourth in the last five.

Against rival Weston last Friday, the Lady Nighthawks took a modest lead through the first half of the meet as the 200 medley relay foursome of Lizanne Kroon, Emma Atkinson, Lucy Remitz and Jaclyn Van Waalwijk out-touched its Weston counterparts by .2 seconds; Jen Iassogna and Sarah Harmonay went 2-4 in the 200 freestyle; Remitz and Kroon went 2-3 in the 200 individual medley; and Van Waalwijk and Annie Hull went 1-2 in the 50 freestyle, with Hull hitting the wall .12 seconds ahead of the closest Weston competitor.

Iassogna finished with a third-place showing in the 500 freestyle while Van Waalwijk (100 free), Kroon (100 back) and Atkinson (100 breast) all took second-place finishes. The 200 freestyle relay foursome of Atkinson, Jenna Legros, Hull and Van Waalwijk took first.

The Lady Trojans started to rally when it went 1-2 in the 100 butterfly and then sealed the meet with a first-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay as the Lady Nighthawks were relegated to second and third.

The locals hosted Brookfield on Thursday and will host Joel Barlow next Thursday in an effort to turn things around.