Newtown High school’s football team cashed in on four consecutive drives that began in Notre Dame-Fairfield territory to the tune of a 28-point second quarter on its way to a 45-7 win in the home opener, at Blue & Gold Stadium, on September 18.

The Nighthawks, who blanked Pomperaug of Southbury 42-0 in week one, held the Lancers off the scoreboard until late in the fourth quarter. It was 42-0 at halftime; one week after Newtown built a 35-0 bulge by the intermission.

Quarterback Justin Dunn hooked up with Ben Mason on a 26-yard scoring play to get things going. Jared Pearson rushed for a 15-yard touchdown for a 14-0 lead after one quarter of play.

In the second, Sam Czel’s interception at the Notre Dame 39 yard line set the tone for the quarter. Ethan Carpenter had a 29-yard reception, then ran the ball into the end zone to extend the lead to three scores.

On the next possession, Newtown’s defense forced the Lancers into punt formation, but Notre Dame couldn’t get the kick away and the punter was tackled inside the Notre Dame 30. The turnover on downs set the Nighthawks up with another short field, and Pearson finished the drive with a six-yard TD run to make it 28-0.

The next series featured more solid defense. After Ryan Kost booted the ball into the end zone for a touchback, the Lancers went backwards, losing 12 yards. A quarterback sack by Mason, for a ten-yard loss, highlighted the defensive showcase. The Lancers punted and yet another Newtown drive started in Lancer territory. Dunn connected with Declan Sullivan on a 28-yard scoring play, making it 35-0. Sullivan came back to the ball, jumped to make the catch, fought off a few defenders, and dove across the goal line for his first varsity TD.

The last TD came following a fumble recovery at the Notre Dame 48 yard line. Nick Samuelson stripped the ball away from a Lancer ball carrier, and Cormac Roe pounced on it. Soon thereafter, Hunter Cobb dashed 31 yards to paydirt.

In the second half, Kost booted a 33-yard field goal from the right hash. Dunn, who only played the first half, completed 12 of 18 pass attempts for 206 yards; Kost took over under center in the third and fourth quarters and Newtown turned mostly to a conservative ground game to eat the clock.

Cobb rushed nine times for 66 yards, all in the first half, and Josh Dunn had ten carries for 52 yards in the second half of play.

Read more about the Nighthawks in the September 25 print edition of The Bee.