Beginning with the opening kickoff, Newtown High School’s football team showed Bunnell that it was turning the tables on the Bulldogs following last year’s Bunnell blowout victory between the South-West Conference rivals.

Tucker Garrity ran the opening kickoff back 65 yards for a score to set the tone as the Nighthawks dominated the host Bulldogs 45-8 in a battle of unbeatens, on October 26.

Dan Mason rushed into the end zone four times, including a 12-yard TD rush for an early 14-0 lead.

Quarterback Luke Melillo hit Shea Talbot for a 38-yard score and a 21-0 first half lead. It was 21-8 Nighthawks at the break.

Mason scored from a yard out, and again from 19 yards to push the lead to 35-8. Devin O’Connell booted a 26-yard field goal for a 38-8 cushion.

Mason’s six-yard score late in the third, following a long Riley Ward punt return and Bunnell penalty, capped the scoring.

The Nighthawks received strong efforts from offensive linemen Kyle Good, Connor Hughes, Mike Loomis, Steven Koren, and Carson Ivey. Joe Zeller, James Knox, Zach Loomis, and Easton Ricks stood out on defense for the Hawks.

Newtown also won the turnover battle en route to improving to 7-0. The Hawks were beaten 40-0 by the Bulldogs last autumn. NHS will visit 6-1 Brookfield, losers only to Southern Connecticut Conference team North Haven, on Friday, November 2, at 7 pm.