By Kim J. Harmon

BROOKFIELD – Better . . . much better.

One week after stumbling through – and eventually winning – the 2001 season opener against Bethel, the Newtown High School football team looked to be in mid-season form as it trounced rival Brookfield, 27-0.

Kyle Nowak was once again his workhorse-type self, rushing for 101 yards on 17 carries, but quarterback Tom Ryan (6-of-11, 76 yards, 1 TD) was much sharper and the offensive and defensive lines were much more poised, being assessed just one penalty in 48 minutes.

Everything was better.

Much, much better.

It did take a little while for the Nighthawks to really get going against Brookfield last Friday night. Mike Deluca didn’t score the first Newtown touchdown until their was 5:56 left to play in the first half.

But the ‘Hawks were really off and running when Ryan hit Drew Narcum with a 40-yard scoring pass with just 37 seconds left to play.

“I guess were just slow starters,” head coach Ken Roberts said.

Touchdowns by Nowak in the third quarter and Kevin Whipkey in the fourth were the icing on the proverbial cake as the ‘Hawks dominated one of the fiercest rivals in just about every aspect of the game.

The ‘Hawks had 318 yards of total offense (242 of that on the ground) and limited the Bobcats to just 83 yards of total offense (38 of those yards on one play). The Bobcats were also held to just one first down in the entire game – and that didn’t come until the third quarter.

A strong performance all around.

While Brookfield started the game with three plays and a punt, Newtown went on a 14-play drive that started on its own 24 and stalled on the Brookfield 12. Ryan completed his first past attempt and later showed some fancy footwork on the sideline to help lead the ‘Hawks down the field.

Neither team moved the moved on the following possessions, but when the ‘Hawks punted away Narcum was there to recover a fumble and start another Newtown drive. That one stalled, too, but a few moments later the Newtown defense blocked a Brookfield punt to get the ball back at the Bobcats’ 20.

Deluca ran for seven yards and then six to get the ‘Hawks down to the seven. Shawn Gleason swept around the end for six more, then Deluca was barreling his way through the line from one yard out to put Newtown on the board.

Casey Kirch followed with what had become a rarity in Newtown – an extra-point kick. He would add two more later in the game.

Once again Brookfield was three-and-out on its drive and Newtown managed to take over on its own 32 as time was wasting in the second quarter. But the ‘Hawks quickly moved down the field – first on a 16-yard run by Deluca and then the 40-yard pass from Ryan to Narcum that put them in the end zone for the second time.

The ‘Hawks nursed the 14-0 lead into the third quarter and were ready to take advantage of another Brookfield special teams fumble to take over at the Bobcats’ 23. Three straight runs by Nowak, two by Deluca, and one more by Nowak put the ‘Hawks in the end zone with 3:53 left to play and gave them a 21-0 lead.

The Bobcats did start to move the ball on their next possession, though. Quarterback Vic Moro started with an incomplete pass, but then hit Kevin Seeley with a four-yard pass to get things going. A holding call set the Bobcats back a little, but Moro hit Seeley again on a screen pass that went 38 yards and well into Newtown territory.

A five-yard run got the ‘Cats even closer to the end zone – as did an interference call on Newtown. But a big sack by Sean Speer, a false start by Brookfield, and a screen pass that went the wrong way all served to put Brookfield in a 4th-and-40 situation.

When Newtown received the punt on its own 30, it started its final scoring drive of the night. Ryan hit Tim Barrett with a four-yard pass and the Gleason was off on a 10-yard scamper. Ryan hooked up with Tim Byrne on a three-yard play and, moments later, hit Barrett with an eight-yard pass. Nowak took up the biggest chunk of yards, rushing 22 yards down to the Brookfield 13.

Three players later, Whipkey swept around end for 13 yards and a touchdown.

The ‘Hawks led, 27-0.

In the final moments of the game, the ‘Hawks had a chance to see Whipkey in at quarterback and Kurt Kling, Mark Boland and Ben Bagaglio in the backfield. Starting at the Brookfield 47, the ‘Hawks brought the ball inside the 10 before kneeling on it and taking the convincing victory home with them.

Yes, it was a better peformance for the ‘Hawks.

Much better.

NHS     0    14      7      6 - 27

BHS     0      0      0      0   - 0

I.          

Second Quarter

N – Deluca 1 run (Kirch kick)

N – Narcum 40 pass from Ryan (Kirch kick)

Third Quarter

N – Nowak 1 run (Kirch kick)

Fourth Quarter

N – Whipkey 13 run (kick blocked)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

 

Rushing

 

NEWTOWN: Nowak 17-101, Deluca 9-31, Whipkey 9-41, Ryan 6-5, Gleason 5-32, Kling 2-7, Boland 3-22, Bagaglio 1-3 (Totals: 52-242); BROOKFIELD: Fleming 5-7, Seeley 4-9, Opinski 2-4, Hadden 3-3, Moro 6-1 (Totals: 20-24).

Passing

NEWTOWN: Ryan 6-0f-11, 76 yards, 1 TD; BROOKFIELD: Moro 5-of-7, 59 yards.

Receiving

NEWTOWN: Barrett 3-22, Byrne 2-14, Narcum 1-40 (Totals: 6-76); BROOKFIELD: Seeley 4-44, Fleming 1-15 (Totals: 5-59).

Frosh Blank Brookfield

Bobby Pattison ran 60 yards for a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage and the Newtown High School freshman football team was well on its way to a 24-0 victory over Brookfield. Pattison later added a touchdown on a 49-yard scamper.

Dan Cascone, Jeff Levasseur (blocked punt), John Collins (blocked punt recovery), and Keith Goothardt (fumble recovery) played solid defense to keep Brookfield out of the end zone. Collins, the QB, and Brendan O’Connor hooked up on a 30-yard pass play and Derek Pattison rumbled 60 yards for a touchdown to spark the offense.