Seventh-Graders Are Florida Bound—

Hawks Win New England Title, Head To National Championship

By Andy Hutchison

MERIDEN — There seems to be no beating this group of Newtown Nighthawks’ football players. The Newtown Youth Football seventh grade team, unbeaten in four seasons dating back to when they were fourth-graders, advanced to the American Youth Football National Championship with a win in the New England Regional Championship on November 21.

The Nighthawks defeated the Massachusetts-based Milford Hawks 32-0 at Falcon Field to advance to the National Championships in Orlando, along with other regional winners, December 5-12.

Milford had allowed only three touchdowns during an 11-game winning streak, while Newtown had averaged 30 points per game. Something had to give and the local gridders made sure it wasn’t their propensity to pile up the points.

Newtown built a commanding 24-0 halftime lead and added its fourth touchdown of the day in the second half. The Nighthawks executed all four two-point kicks following touchdowns and the defense earned a shutout by thwarting Milford’s offense from start to finish.

Newtown’s defensive ends Tim Krapf and Markus Elken shut down the outside while defensive linemen Eric Cascone, Pete Manfredonia, Kevin Conte, Griffin Davis, and Jake Lambert closed down any idea of running inside. Krapf and Elken set the tone by each getting quarterback sacks along with multiple tackles in the backfield. Linebacker Rat Rubino led the team in tackles with six. Bug Santella, Jaret Devellis, Forrest Speed, and Logan Walsh played great at the cornerback position, with Santella and Devellis getting four tackles each. The intense Nighthawks’ defense gave up only 19 yards through the first three quarters and did not allow Milford to cross midfield until late in the game.

The spread offense compiled 262 yards with 196 on the ground and 66 through the air. Nick Lotrecchiano, Colton Smith, Julian Dunn, James Leuci, and Shane Quimby combined for 158 yards with Rubino, Krapf, and Ryan Sullivan pounding the ball for the remaining 28 yards right up the gut of the defense. Smith scored two touchdowns and Krapf also scored twice, recovering a fumble in the end zone for his second TD. Smith completed six passes for 66 yards with Lotrecchiano on the receiving end three times for 43 yards. Dunn added two receptions for 14 yards and tight end Connor Roche caught a 9-yard pass.

Smith began the scoring with his TD run early in the opening quarter. Santella had an open field tackle for a six-yard loss and Speed broke up a pass to help Newtown take over on downs at the Milford 40 yard line.

In the second quarter, the Nighthawks made it 16-0 on Krapf’s one-yard run. The defense again clamped down and forced another turnover on downs, this time at midfield, with 2:39 to play in the half. On fourth and long, the Nighthawks got a first down when Smith made a shuffle pass to Lotrecchiano that turned into a 26-yard gain, setting up Krapf’s fumble recovery TD. Smith’s third-quarter TD run capped the scoring.

Newtown has been to one national championship before — in 2004. The Nighthawks defeated a Florida All-Star team, the only other team to participate that year, in a best of three championship series. The Newtown team decided not to go to Florida for another national championship until more teams would be participating. The American Youth Football program has grown and several more teams will participate this fall, Newtown Coach Pat Smith said.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Smith said of the wait. “It was just a great experience down there.”

The Nighthawks hope to make it a great experience once again and quarterback Colton Smith wants things to remain this way for years to come.

“This is really fun. We haven’t lost in a while and I’m really hoping nobody goes to a different high school so we can play in high school together,” Colton Smith said.

For now, the team will try for another national title.

To reduce the overall cost of the trip for each player, the Newtown Youth Football team is accepting donations which may be sent to: Newtown Youth Football — 7th Grade, PO Box 351, Newtown CT 06470