Headed Back To The Title Game—

Football Team Clinches SWC Championship Berth With Wild Overtime Win

By Andy Hutchison

STRATFORD — Newtown High School’s football team won a memorable, back-and-forth, edge-of-your-seat battle with host Bunnell of Stratford — 54-48 in overtime — on November 12 to earn a berth in the South-West Conference championship tilt. For all intents and purposes, this regular season clash was a playoff game of sorts. After all, the winner gets a chance to compete for a conference title all the while bolstering its state playoff hopes, and the loser will likely not qualify for the postseason. Newtown improved to 8-1 and Bunnell fell to 7-2.

Lou Fenaroli scored the decisive touchdown on Newtown’s first play in OT, running the ball into the end zone from 10 yards out. Both teams had possessions with four sets of downs, beginning at the 10 in the high school tie-breaking format. The host Bulldogs had the ball first, but Newtown’s Hunter Bassett forced a fumble that Cory Fisher recovered, thwarting the ’Dogs and setting up the game-winning score.

Newtown will play for all of the SWC marbles, against Masuk of Monroe, for the second year in a row; the Panthers beat the Nighthawks in last year’s pinnacle game. The scheduled regular season-ending game, again, becomes the conference championship game. Kickoff is 7 pm on Wednesday, November 23 — Thanksgiving Eve — at Masuk High.

“I can’t even describe right now. You know, it’s just a rush of emotion when Lou crossed the goal line and we’re just excited to get another opportunity in the SWC championship,” Newtown’s Dan Hebert said.

It would have been Bunnell in the championship clash if not for some late-game magic by Newtown. The Nighthawks trailed 48-41 with just 1:41 to play before quarterback Drew Tarantino drove the Hawks down the field for the tying score. Fenaroli got into the paint on a 12-yard run up the middle on a delayed handoff. Jake Tolson, who was accurate all day, added the extra point to force extra time.

Newtown Coach Steve George toyed with the idea of going for two points and the win in regulation. “When you have those headphones on it’s like the choir. ‘Go for two, go for one, go for two, go for one,’ said George, referring to his assistants and coordinators chiming in with their thoughts on what to do. George added that he was confident in his team’s ability to win in OT, especially with the benefit of a strong kicking game.

The Nighthawks were sitting pretty once Bunnell turned the ball over in OT. “I knew once we had a little bit of momentum after they fumbled the ball, all Fenaroli had to do was plow through everybody like he’s done all year long, and we were going to score,” George said.

And if, somehow, Fenaroli was stopped, Tolson would have been in line to end it. “At that point I knew we were going to win the game because that’s a chip shot for our field goal kicker,” the coach noted.

The game featured numerous highlight-reel plays, including Newtown defensive standout Cory Fisher returning a kickoff 70 yards to pay dirt to get the Hawks on the scoreboard after NHS yielded the first 12 points to the Bulldogs. Fenaroli then scored the first of his five TDs on a 39-yard pass from Tarantino to help give Newtown a 14-12 edge after one quarter of play. The game was a seesaw battle with the teams exchanging leads all afternoon long.

In the second quarter, the teams traded scores with a six-yard Fenaroli run staking the Hawks to a 21-18 lead. After a Justin DeVellis interception, Newtown extended its advantage to 28-18 on a bizarre play — quite a memorable one for Hebert. The receiver lined up as quarterback on multiple plays, and on this particular one, improvised and used his athleticism to turn an apparent big loss into a huge gain — and score. The snap, from the Bunnell 39, sailed high over Hebert’s head and the receiver-turned-QB retreated the scoop up the ball, then weaved his way through myriad Bulldog defenders en route to the end zone, sparking a celebration along the NHS sideline and in the visiting team’s stands.

The Bulldogs, who came up with one clutch fourth down conversion after another, got it back to a one-possession contest with a late second-quarter score. It was 28-24 Newtown at the half.

Tolson made good on all six of his extra point attempts (NHS went for one two-point conversion) and Bunnell attempted two-point conversions after each of its seven scores, coming up short on its first four, all in the opening half, before converting on all three second-half attempts.

Newtown opened the scoring in the third when Tarantino hooked up with Hebert on a 30-yard touchdown play for a 35-24 advantage with 7:20 to play. Back came the Bulldogs. Just 1:58 later, Jason Kramer’s TD run and two-point rush got the Bulldogs to within 35-32.

Hebert took a direct snap and rushed for 45 yards to the Bunnell three, but a couple of penalties on ensuing plays backed the Nighthawks from licking their chops on the end zone doorstep into a less-than-manageable third and goal from the 21. NHS couldn’t cash in as Tarantino’s long heave narrowly escaped the grasp of a leaping Hebert in the end zone.

Two plays from scrimmage later, however, NHS got the ball back on a Mike Lengel interception at the NHS 24, but Newtown’s offense, for a change, was stymied on consecutive drives.

The Bulldogs finally reclaimed the lead on a score midway through the fourth quarter. QB Bryan Castelot connected with Joseph Bivona on a 17-yard TD play and a two-point conversion made it 42-35 ’Dogs.

Newtown answered on Fenaroli’s 22-yard catch and run in for a score and went ahead 41-40 with 4:35 left. The two-point attempt failed and the Bulldogs pieced together a late go-ahead drive. Bunnell’s David Camille scored his fourth TD of the afternoon on a 36-yard catch and dash into the end zone, and the two-pointer gave the home team a 48-41 edge with 1:41 left.

The ensuing kickoff was a squibber — Bunnell didn’t kick deep all game long — and Fisher pounced on the ball at the Newtown 42. The clock read 1:39, and that proved to be plenty of time for Tarantino and company. Fenaroli, who rumbled to chain-movers on handoffs throughout the game, had a 17-yard run for a first down, and DeVellis had a 16-yard reception that led to a pass interference penalty against the Bulldogs in their own end zone, setting up Fenaroli’s 12-yard score with 51 seconds to play.

Penalty flags went flying all afternoon, and Newtown’s fans hooted and hollered when several calls, and noncalls alike, were made (or not, as the case was). Hebert was driven into the grass a few seconds after a the play was blown dead, but no flag was tossed, prompting the fans to boo emphatically. There was a mix of “Bronx cheering” and screams of joy when the late-game pass interference call went Newtown’s way. That proved, ironically enough, to be perhaps the biggest penalty call of the day.

“I’m very happy for these kids because they worked so hard to get to this point and they really stepped it up at the end there, and didn’t make any mistakes when the game was on the line,” George said.

Now, the Hawks turn their focus to trying to overcome a Masuk opponent that has put at least 49 points on the board in all of its game during a 9-0 campaign.

“They’re a great team and no one’s come within 50 points of them so we’re just going to do our best and see how it goes,” Fenaroli said.

The truth is, Masuk hasn’t outscored everyone by 50 or more points, but certainly has dominated the competition, much like Newtown has in most of its games, throughout the fall. Masuk did not play Bunnell, but did defeat the only team to knock off the Hawks, and handily, 49-3.

“They’re well-coached, they have great talent so it’ll be a real challenge for us just like this game was,” George said. “I look forward to it.”