By Kim J. Harmon

In the space of two games 25 long-range missiles were unleashed and when the smoke cleared and the rubble was removed the Newtown High School boys’ basketball team – which unleashed just eight of those missiles – had captured two more wins to improve to 6-2 overall.

But the two wins were a little more important this time around as the South-West Conference schedule opened. At the same time, things did not go so well for the girls’ basketball team, which suffered losses to Kolbe Cathedral and Joel Barlow to fall to 5-4 on the year.

The swimmers picked up two more wins and the wrestlers were clobbered at the Southington Duals while the hockey team pounded New Fairfield, 7-2, behind the overwhelming effort of the Beitel brothers, Christian and Max.

Read on –

BOYS BASKETBALL

Newtown 51, New Fairfield 50

Newtown 65, Joel Barlow 58

The three-pointers were simply raining down from the rafters, but the resurgent Newtown High School boys’ basketball team had the tenacity to overcome a 40-point effort by Matt Lisi and hang on for a critical 65-58 win over Joel Barlow last Friday night in Redding.

With the win – and a 51-50 win over New Fairfield last Wednesday – the Nighthawks improved to 6-2 overall, 2-0 in the South-West Conference.

“We needed to come up big to start league play,” said junior Kevin Troy, who canned a team-high 16 points. “We knew they were good and we needed to come out hard. This was a good way to get some momentum going.”

The locals had all the momentum after jumping out to a quick 10-2 lead, but then Lisi – finding himself open time and again off the screen – began striking from the outside and hit three of his seven treys.

Troy knocked a couple down himself as the ‘Hawks withstood the assault and maintained a 21-15 lead at the end of one. The Falcons pulled ahead after an 8-0 run to start the second, but Mike Maher and Jack Quinn canned back-to-back three-pointers to put the ‘Hawks back out on top, 27-23. Tucker Kass later added a putback and Maher added a baseline runner as the ‘Hawks went into the break with a 31-26 lead.

“They were very patient with their offense,” said Troy, “and they were good at it. That kid Lisi can hit it from anywhere.”

After a couple more treys, the Falcons pulled ahead, 38-37, midway through the third period before a couple of trips to the foul line (Troy was 2-for-2, Shaun Coakley was 1-for-2, and Quinn was 1-for-2) put the locals in front, 41-39. PJ Cochrane popped in a jumper at the buzzer to give the ‘Hawks a four-point advantage heading into the final period.

It was the cushion the locals needed. While the Falcons continually threatened to chip away at the lead – which sank to one after another three-pointer by Lisi – the ‘Hawks maintained it with some great ballhandling by Joe DeVellis and strong performances inside by Coakley (9 points) and Mike Kennedy (14 points).

The ‘Hawks were clinging to a two-point lead with one minute left but salted the game away at the free throw line, hitting 6-of-8 down the stretch.

In the narrow win over New Fairfield last Wednesday, the locals had to hold on tight as a seven-point lead slipped to just one. Joe DeVellis popped in 13 points, the only Newtown player in double figures, to offset a 15-point effort by Ryan Harrow, an 11-point effort by James Nabozna and a 10-point effort from Steve Bulan.

There were 13 three-point baskets in the game, with DeVellis and Maher knocking down two apiece for the ‘Hawks.

The locals will host a rematch with New Fairfield on Friday and will host Bethel on Tuesday and will seek some revenge for a  69-64 loss suffered at the hands of the Wildcats a few days before Christmas.

Newtown 51, New Fairfield 50

NEWTOWN (51): Mike Kennedy 1 0-2 2, Tucker Kass 2 1-2 5, Dan Smith 2 0-0 4, Jack Quinn 0 0-0 0, Kevin Troy 2 0-0 4, Mike Maher 2 0-0 6, Jake DeVellis 2 2-3 6, Shaun Coakley 2 4-6 8, Joey DeVellis 7 0-0 13. TOTALS: 20 7-13 51.

NEW FAIRFIELD (50): Greg McLain 0 2-3 2, Steve Bulan 3 3-4 10, Sam Osborne 2 0-0 5, James Nabozna 4 0-0 11, Dave Elser 0 0-0 0, Ryan Harro 4 4-4 15, Pat Cassidy 3 0-0 7. TOTALS: 16 9-11 50.

Three-pointers: Nabozna (NF) 3, Harro (NF) 3, Maher (N) 2, Joe DeVellis (N) 2, Bulan (NF), Osborne (NF), Cassidy (NF).

Newtown 65, Joel Barlow 58

NEWTOWN (65): Mike Kennedy 6 1-2 14, Tucker Kass 2 2-4 6, Dan Smith 1 1-2 3, Jack Quinn 2 1-2 6, Kevin Troy 5 4-8 16, Jason Smith 0 0-0 0, Mike Maher 2 0-0 5, Shaun Coakley 4 1-2 9, Joe DeVellis 2 0-0 4, PJ Cochrane 1 0-0 2, TOTALS: 25 10-20 65.

JOEL BARLOW (58): Matt Lisi 11 11-12 40, Mike D’Amato 2 0-2 4, Thad Bogardus 0 0-0 0, Ryan Brown 2 6-12 10, Dan Mercede 0 0-0 0, Mike Levene 0 1-2 1, Jason Greenberg 0 0-0 0, Aaron Kaufman 1 0-0 3, TOTALS: 16 18-28 58.

Three-pointers: Lisi (JB) 7, Troy (N) 2, Quinn (N), Maher (N), Kaufman (JB).

HOCKEY

Bethel-Brookfield 3, Newtown 1

Newtown 7, New Fairfield 2

The Beitel brothers put the bite on New Fairfield and the Newtown High School hockey team is a surprising 5-2-0.

Christian Beitel scored four goals and Max Beitel added a goal and three assists as the Nighthawks swamped New Fairfield last Friday, 7-2, at the Danbury Ice Arena. The two teams combined for five goals in the first period alone – three coming off the stick of Christian Beitel.

Francis Oggeri and Blake Bell also scored while Chris Kraft notched four assists. Goaltender Mitch Bloomberg – after sitting out one contest – stopped 12 shots to improve his personal record to 5-1-0.

*Last Wednesday, the Bethel-Brookfield hockey team out-skated and outplayed Newtown, which missed many opportunities throughout the game, leading to the 3-1 Bethel-Brookfield victory.

Mike Campbell of Bethel-Brookfield scored early in the first period on Newtown goalie Kyle DiNicola, who was starting his first game in place of Bloomberg, the regular starter. The inexperience in the net turned out to cost Newtown, which spent the entire game chasing Bethel-Brookfield.

Newtown gave up another goal, a crippling slap-shot, that brought the deficit to 2-0. Christian Beitel scored to slow Bethel-Brookfield’s momentum halfway through the second period, but that was the closest the Nighthawks ever got.

With a third goal late in the third period, Bethel-Brookfield effectively shut out a Newtown team that was unable to capitalize during four power plays. Bethel-Brookfield improved to 2-5 on the year and Newtown dropped to 4-2.*

The locals hosted the resurgent Housatonic Valley Regional (0-20 a year ago, but now ranked high in Division III) on Wednesday and will be at The Rinks at Shelton next Tuesday for a rematch with South-West Conference rival Masuk.

* - contributed by Jake Burg

Bethel Brookfield 3, Newtown 1

GOALS: Bethel-Brookfield – Mike Campbell, Alan Boschetto, James Kiley;Newtown – Christian Beitel. ASSISTS: Bethel-Brookfield – Nick Martin; Newtown – Max Beitel. SHOTS: Bethel-Brookfield – 22; Newtown – 27. SAVES: Bethel-Brookfield – Mike Sullinger 26; Newtown – Kyle DiNicola 19.

Newtown 7, New Fairfield 2

GOALS: Newtown – Christian Beitel 4, Francis Oggeri, Blake Bell, Max Beitel; New Fairfield – Matt Jablonski, Chris Doyle. ASSISTS: Newtown – Chris Kraft 4, Max Beitel 3; New Fairfield – Sean Wekerle, Evan DeAngelis. SHOTS: Newtown – 34; New Fairfield – 14. SAVES: Newtown – Mitch Bloomberg 12; New Fairfield – Paul Gouveia 27.

SWIMMING

Newtown 103, Bethel 75

Newtown 103, Bunnell 74

The 14-day holiday layoff did little to slow down the Newtown High School swim team, which posted wins over Bethel and Bunnell-Stratford this week to improve to 3-1 overall.

In the 103-75 win over Bethel on January 3, Stefan Toi (200 freestyle), Anthony Fiore (200 individual medley), Allison Jagoe (diving) and Matt Iassogna (100 butterfly) were individual winners while the foursomes in the 200 medley relay (Alex Kron, Allan Hubbard, Iassogna and Fiore), 200 freestyle relay (Jeff Bonaccorso, Anthony Fiore, Toi and Luke Fiore) and 400 freestyle relay (Dave Rothacker, Tony Fragoso, James O’Connor and Patrick Stein) all captured first-place finishes.

In the win over Bunnell-Stratford, Anthony Fiore (50 freestyle, 100 backstroke), Toi (100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke) were double winners while Luke Fiore (200 freestyle) and Wes Hood (500 freestyle) were solo winners.

The Nighthawks will look to improve on their 3-1 record when they travel to Wilby High School in Waterbury on Friday to take on Holy Cross. But coming up on Friday, January 19, the ‘Hawks will host SWC powerhouse Brookfield.

200 medley relay – 1. Newtown (A. Fiore, Fragoso, Maurer, Toi) 1:50.62, 2. Newtown (J. O’Connor, Hubbard, Fragoso, Bonaccorso) 1:59.34, 3. Bunnell-Stratford 2:01.80; 200 freestyle – 1. L. Fiore (N) 1:59.61, 2. Hood (N) 1:59.84, 3. Iassogna (N) 2:09.55, 4. Miller (B/S) 2:18.05, 5. Patel (B/S) 2:18.69; 200 individual medley – 1. Mudre (B/S) 2:22.36, 2. Russo (B/S) 2:23.68, 3. J. O’Connor (N) 2:27.32, 4. K. O’Connor 2:39.77, 5. Stein (N) 2:36.38; 50 freestyle – 1. A. Fiore (N) 24.46, 2. Bonaccorso (N) 25.34, 3. Herring (N) 25.37, 4. Jackel (B/S) 26.70, 5. Stevens (B/S) 28.46; Diving – 1. Sobel (B/S) 209.35, 2. Romaniello (B/S) 133.85, 3. Bierce (N) 111.25, 4. Jagoe (N) 115.20, 5. Grom (B/S) 107.90; 100 butterfly – 1. Toi (N) 57.13, 2. K. O’Connor (N) 106.69, 3. Fragoso (N) 1:07.26, 4. Behmke (B/S) 1:!2.50, 5. Stevens (B/S) 1:13.36; 100 freestyle – 1. Maurer (N) 55.77, 2. Herring (N) 56.65, 3. Rothacker (N) 1:00.71, 4. Miller (B/S) 1:01.61, 5. Jackel (B/S) 1:03.95; 500 freestyle – 1. Hood (N) 5:31.82, 2. Morriscoe (B/S) 5:34.84, 3. Parker (N) 6:27.59, 4. Modre (B/S) 6:28.54, 5. Crevier (N) 7:09.65; 200 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Bonaccorso, Maurer, Rothacker, A. Fiore) 1:43.31, 2. Newtown (Fragoso, Herring, L. Fiore, Iassogna) 1:43.87, 3. Bunnell-Stratford 1:47.32; 100 backstroke – 1. A. Fiore (N) 59.35, 2. Fragoso (N) 1:05.70, 3. Grom (B/S) 1:05.70, 3. J. O’Connor (N) 1:09.86, 5. Patel (B/S) 1:09.96; 100 breaststroke – 1. Toi (N) 1:08.54, 2. Hubbard (N) 1:12.91, 3. Stein (N) 1:17.43, 4. Behmke (B/S) 1:19.07, Kornich (B/S) 1:20.62; 400 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Bonaccorso, Fragoso, Hood, L. Fiore) 3:47.57, 2. Newtown (Swink, Parker, Iassogna, K. O’Connor) 4:11.45, 3. Bunnell-Stratford 4:11.72.

Newtown 103, Bethel 75

200 medley relay – 1. Newtown (Kron, Hubbard, Iassogna, Fiore) 1:54.19, 2. Newtown (Hood, T. Fragoso, C. Fragoso, Bonaccorso)1:55.46, 3. Bethel 1:57.80; 200 freestyle – 1. Toi (N) 1:56.41, 2. Thai (B) 2:03.03, 3. Maurer (N) 2:05.64, 4. J. O’Conner (N) 2:10.15, 5. Millan (B) 2:27.49; 200 individual medley – 1. Fiore (N) 2:10.00, 2. Fragoso (N) 2:22.72, 3. Parker (N) 2:27.24, 4. Fox (B) 2:29.57, 5. Sommer (B) 3:05.47; 50 freestyle – 1. Thai (B) 24.08, 2. L. Fiore (N) 24.52, 3. Bonaccorso 25.40, 4. Mammen (N) 27:32, 5. Lee (B) 27.34; Diving – 1. Jagoe (N) 128.70, 2. Bobkowski (N) 116.75, 3. Romano (B) 91.80, 4. Paproski (N) 93.50; 100 butterfly – 1. Iassogna (N) 1:02.67, 2. Fragoso (N) 1:05.36, 3. Fox (B) 1:05.67, 4. K. O’Connor (N) 1:06.48; 100 freestyle – 1. Thai (B) 53.17, 2. Kron (N) 53.57, 3. Hood (N) 54.19, 4. Herring (N) 56.93, 5. Millan (B) 1:03.47; 500 freestyle – 1. Thai (B) 5:33.19, 2. Maurer (N) 5:48.79, 3. Hubbard (N) 6:11.86, 4. Rothacker (N) 6:19.42, 5. Xie (B) 6:19.63; 200 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Bonaccorso, A. Fiore, Toi, L. Fiore) 1:37.44, 2. Newtown (Mammen, Herring, J. O’Connor, Stein) 1:45.92, 3. Bethel 1:46.47; 100 backstroke – 1. Kron (N) 1:00.17, 2. Hood (N) 1:03.73, 3. Iassogna (N) 1:09.42;100 breaststroke – 2. Fragoso (N) 1:13.03, 3. Parker (N) 1:17.00, 4. K. O’Connor (N) 1:20.61. 400 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Rothacker, Fragoso, J. O’Connor, Stein) 4:02.59, 2.Newtown 4:02.71, 3. Bethel 4:17.85.

Newtown swam the final three events unofficially.

Newtown 103, Bunnell-Stratford 74

200 medley relay – 1. Newtown (A. Fiore, Fragoso, Maurer, Toi) 1:50.62, 2. Newtown (J. O’Connor, Hubbard, Fragoso, Bonaccorso) 1:59.34, 3. Bunnell-Stratford 2:01.80; 200 freestyle – 1. L. Fiore (N) 1:59.61, 2. Hood (N) 1:59.84, 3. Iassogna (N) 2:09.55, 4. Miller (B/S) 2:18.05, 5. Patel (B/S) 2:18.69; 200 individual medley – 1. Mudre (B/S) 2:22.36, 2. Russo (B/S) 2:23.68, 3. J. O’Connor (N) 2:27.32, 4. K. O’Connor 2:39.77, 5. Stein (N) 2:36.38; 50 freestyle – 1. A. Fiore (N) 24.46, 2. Bonaccorso (N) 25.34, 3. Herring (N) 25.37, 4. Jackel (B/S) 26.70, 5. Stevens (B/S) 28.46; Diving – 1. Sobel (B/S) 209.35, 2. Romaniello (B/S) 133.85, 3. Bierce (N) 111.25, 4. Jagoe (N) 115.20, 5. Grom (B/S) 107.90; 100 butterfly – 1. Toi (N) 57.13, 2. K. O’Connor (N) 106.69, 3. Fragoso (N) 1:07.26, 4. Behmke (B/S) 1:!2.50, 5. Stevens (B/S) 1:13.36; 100 freestyle – 1. Maurer (N) 55.77, 2. Herring (N) 56.65, 3. Rothacker (N) 1:00.71, 4. Miller (B/S) 1:01.61, 5. Jackel (B/S) 1:03.95; 500 freestyle – 1. Hood (N) 5:31.82, 2. Morriscoe (B/S) 5:34.84, 3. Parker (N) 6:27.59, 4. Modre (B/S) 6:28.54, 5. Crevier (N) 7:09.65; 200 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Bonaccorso, Maurer, Rothacker, A. Fiore) 1:43.31, 2. Newtown (Fragoso, Herring, L. Fiore, Iassogna) 1:43.87, 3. Bunnell-Stratford 1:47.32; 100 backstroke – 1. A. Fiore (N) 59.35, 2. Fragoso (N) 1:05.70, 3. Grom (B/S) 1:05.70, 3. J. O’Connor (N) 1:09.86, 5. Patel (B/S) 1:09.96; 100 breaststroke – 1. Toi (N) 1:08.54, 2. Hubbard (N) 1:12.91, 3. Stein (N) 1:17.43, 4. Behmke (B/S) 1:19.07, Kornich (B/S) 1:20.62; 400 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Bonaccorso, Fragoso, Hood, L. Fiore) 3:47.57, 2. Newtown (Swink, Parker, Iassogna, K. O’Connor) 4:11.45, 3. Bunnell-Stratford 4:11.72.

Except for Patrick Stein in the 100 breaststroke, Newtown swam the final three events unofficially

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Kolbe 85, Newtown 51

Joel Barlow 54, Newtown 47

There are parts – isolated pockets – of the schedule that everyone knew would be pretty tough on the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team.

The first one was early in the season when the Lady Nighthawks faced Joel Barlow and Pomperaug back-to-back and since they split that (a win over Barlow, a loss to Pomperaug) the ‘Hawks did pretty well.

Another pocket is coming up January 23 and 26 when the locals face Masuk and Pomperaug back-to-back and then on February 12 and 14 when they close out the regular season with Lauralton Hall and Notre Dame.

But one of those pockets was last week, January 3 and 5, when the girls hosted Kolbe Cathedral and Joel Barlow. This one did not go so well for the locals, who lost both games to drop to 5-4 overall, 0-3 in the South-West Conference.

In the loss to Kolbe, the locals actually jumped out to a quick six-point lead and looked as if they were going to take the Lady Cougars out to the woodshed. But the momentum quickly shifted later in the first period as the visitors soon raced out in front and then rolled to a dominating 85-51 lead.

With 26 points in the second quarter, the Cougars took a 44-22 lead into the halftime break and then expanded that lead by nine in the third. Brianna Barnes and Ashley Prim tossed in 21 points apiece to lead the Cougars.

In the loss to Barlow, the ‘Hawks had trouble this time around contending with Jenn and Jacqueline Shinall, who combined for 35 points in the Lady Falcons 54-47 win. The game was tied early in the fourth, but the visitors pulled away in the final seven minutes.

Christie Iwanicki had another strong performance, leading all scorers with 20 points while Darcy Fiscella tossed in 11. Iwanicki had a pair of three-pointers while Fiscella and Nora Lynn Shimko had one each.

The girls will be in New Fairfield on Friday and will visit Bethel on Tuesday in the hopes of turning their fortunes around.

Kolbe Cathedral 85, Newtown 51

KOLBE CATHEDRAL (85): Brianna Barnes 10 1-2 21, Kamiya Burwell 6 5-5 19, Bianca Young 1 0-0 2, Lena Fracassini 4 5-5 13, Ashley Prim 9 3-8 21, Bianca Fracassini 0 0-0 0, Tiarrah Thompson 2 1-2 5, Gladys Hudson 1 0-0 2, Iwana Garcia 1 0-0 2, TOTALS: 34 15-22 85.

NEWTOWN (51): Jen Brewer 0 1-2 1, Christie Iwanicki 9 0-0 19, Nora Lynn Shimko 0 0-0 0, Darcy Fiscella 3 0-0 6, Kristi Nowak 3 2-2 8, Morgan Knees 5 1-1 11, Katie Condon 2 1-2 6, Emily Leidlein 0 0-2 0, Brittany Papaj 0 0-0 0, Jordan Good 0 0-0 0, TOTALS: 22 5-9 51.

Three-pointers: Burwell (K) 2, Iwanicki (N), Condon (N).

Joel Barlow 54, Newtown 47

JOEL BARLOW (54): Karra Damascus 1 1-3 3, Kristin Hanczor 3 0-0 6, Jenn Shinall 6 4-6 19, Jacqueline Shinall 5 3-4 16, Melissa Touma 0 3-4 3, Sarah Urban 1 0-0 2, Emily Ahlberg 2 1-3 5. TOTALS: 18 12-20 54.

NEWTOWN (47): Jordan Good 0 1-2 1, Christie Iwanicki 7 4-9 20, Nora Lynn Shimko 2 0-0 5, Darcy Fiscella 5 0-3 11, Kristi Nowak 0 2-4 2, Morgan Knees 2 1-2 5, Katie Condon 1 1-2 3. TOTALS: 17 9-22 47.

Three-pointers: Je. Shinall (JB) 3, Ja. Shinall (JB) 3, Iwanicki (N) 2, Shimko (N), Fiscella (N).

WRESTLING

Windham 66, Newtown 0

Amity 55, Newtown 21

Greenwich 68, Newtown 14

A 3-1 record through the first four meets of the season – not to mention a third-place finish at the annual Guilford Tournament – had the Newtown High School wrestling team looking forward to the rest of the 2006-07 season.

Perspective may have changed a little, though, as the Nighthawks were swamped by New Milford and then suffered a series of losses at the annual Southington Duals last weekend.

With losses to Windham (66-0), Amity (55-21) and Greenwich (68-14), the Nighthawks dropped to 3-6 overall, 3-1 in the South-West Conference. The locals were in New Fairfield on Wednesday looking to turn things around and will host Brien McMahon and Thomaston on Saturday before returning to the mat next Wednesday to host Brookfield.

Pool A – Southington 49, Ridgefield 25; Southington 45, Pine Bush, N.Y. 26; Southington 63, Cheshire 13; Pine Bush 57, Cheshire 24; Pine Bush 42, Ridgefield 28; Ridgefield 57, Cheshire 18.

Pool B – Windham 66, Newtown 0; Windham 37, Amity 28; Amity 55, Newtown 21; Amity 38, Greenwich 29; Greenwich 31, Windham 30, criteria (most pins, 3-2); Greenwich 68, Newtown 14.

Championship – Southington 48, Windham 15; Third place – Amity def. Pine Bush, N.Y; Fifth place – Ridgefield and Greenwich did not wrestle; Seventh place – Cheshire versus Newtown.