Football Team Kicks Off Season With Boot Trophy Triumph

By Andy Hutchison

NEW MILFORD — Three touchdowns in the first half and a solid overall defensive performance led the Newtown High School football team to a 21-7 win in the season opener, under the lights at New Milford on Friday, September 14.

With the win the Nighthawks continued their success against the Green Wave. They kept possession of the Boot Trophy, the hardware that has been at stake when these rivals have done battle throughout the years, since the Wave last earned bragging rights back in 2001.

“The kids expect to do it every year,” Newtown Coach Steve George said of his team keeping a hold on the trophy.

The Nighthawks did all of their scoring in the first half, with quarterback Drew Tarantino connecting with receiver Julian Dunn for a pair of touchdown plays and hooking up with running back Cooper Gold for another scoring play.

Dunn had touchdown receptions of 44 and 22 yards, and Gold got into the end zone on a swing pass play from 11 yards out. Tarantino completed 17 of 31 pass attempts for 250 yards. Dunn had eight catches for 158 yards, and Gold rushed 25 times for 131 yards. Christian Mather booted extra points following each score.

The Nighthawks kept the ball on the ground throughout most of the second half, even though that wasn’t the game plan.

“It’s never as you expect it. We were expecting to come out throwing the ball a lot here and I feel like we ran the ball well and effectively in the second half. That was a good surprise in our favor,” George said. “We were starting to figure out their blitzing and pass protect a little bit better and I think that was something that got better during the game.”

The Green Wave finally broke up the shutout by scoring a touchdown with 2:55 left in the third quarter, on a Newtown penalty-assisted drive, but Newtown’s tough defense didn’t let the hosts get any closer.

Free safety Justin Devellis had a pair of first half interceptions but recognized that everyone on defense chipped in to get the Hawks off to a winning start.

“Not just me, but the whole group as a unit, deserves credit, Devellis said. “These kids — they’re not scared of hitting.”

Those kids the senior Devellis speaks of are a group of underclassmen who played well to help preserve the lead. George noted that the defensive — and offensive for that matter — line(s) comprise mostly juniors and sophomores. Tim Krapf (four tackles) and Josh Krapf (eight tackles and a quarterback sack) were among the notable players to lead the defense in the win, George said.

The special teams had its moments, too. Nick Rubino forced and recovered a fumble on a New Milford kick return. Gold was the team’s workhorse on offense, taking a bulk of the handoffs and picking up gains on almost every opportunity. George was pleased with defensive line’s ability to effectively put pressure on New Milford quarterback Connor Shannahan, by rushing only three players. “That makes all the difference in the world,” he said.

George was happy his team won the turnover battle. Two plays after Newtown’s offense coughed up the ball on a late fourth quarter fumble, Jack Lago picked off a New Milford pass to all but seal the win.

George, on the whole, was pleased with the effort, but would like to see the Hawks clean up some mistakes and cut down on penalties.

“We’ve got to be able to pass protect better. I think our pass protect broke down a few times which I was real unhappy about,” the coach said. “I think we’ve got to be able run the ball out of a one back set a little bit better and I think we have to be a little more disciplined. There were a lot of penalties tonight, and we’ll be able to clean these things up throughout the week.”

The Nighthawks are hopeful that standout receiver Dan Hebert, plagued by cramps in the opener, is at full strength throughout the next game.

Newtown will host Pomperaug of Southbury in the first home game of the year, on Friday, September 21. Kickoff is set for 7 pm at Blue & Gold Stadium.