By Kim J. Harmon

Even though it was his first varsity start, junior quarterback Charlie LoBosco looked like he was born for the position.

Showing nice poise and a strong arm, LoBosco – subbing in for Jake DeVellis, who was kept out of the game due to a concussion suffered early in an October 5 loss to Stratford – connected on 10-of-19 passes for 239 yards and four touchdowns as the Newtown High School football team pounded Brookfield, 34-7, last Friday.

After stepping onto the field in the first quarter against Stratford, LoBosco only had modest success, completing 7-of-25 with two touchdowns and a couple of interceptions. But with a week to prepare (due to the concussion, DeVellis had to sit for a week), LoBosco was much sharper.

“Stratford was tough and could pick just about any ball off,” said first-year head coach Steve George. “Against Brookfield, Charlie got a lot of time to throw and he made some great throws.”

With 3:35 left in the first quarter, the QB tossed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Kurt Nacewicz to stake the Nighthawks to an early 7-0 lead. Just 47 seconds in the second quarter, LoBosco rolled out right and fired a 10-yard scoring pass to Bob Lapple to put the ‘Hawks on top, 14-0.

Both touchdown passes came on third down. And on the second one, Lapple reached over the Brookfield defender and pulled the ball right off his fingertips for the score.

With 7:54 left in the second quarter, LoBosco showcased his arm when he tossed a 76-yard touchdown pass to Conor Martin. The senior split end was on a fly pattern down the left side and LoBosco dropped the football neatly into his hands, on the run, for the easy score.

The Bobcats appeared to be ready to stem the tide, a bit, late in the half as they drove deep into Newtown territory. With 1:40 left on the clock, the ‘Cats seemingly scored on a 12-yard jolt up the middle, but the play was called back due to illegal motion.

The drive was still alive, but about a minute later – right after coaches shouted for the corner backs to play tight and the linebackers to pinch in – senior free safety Jamie Goodwick snared a Brookfield pass at the two and took it 98 yards the other way for a touchdown. On the conversion, LoBosco found Kyle McNamara in the end zone to put the ‘Hawks up 28-0 at the half.

Though LoBosco tossed one of his two interceptions on the second play of the second half, the ‘Hawks got the ball right back on a fumble recovery. And with the aid of an interference call on third and long and a encroachment penalty on fourth and short, the ‘Cats enabled Newtown to move down the field.

On fourth and short from the Brookfield 30, sophomore running back Kyle O’Connor spun through the line for four yards and a first down. On the next play, LoBosco was on the roll out again and found Lapple – suddenly all alone after the Brookfield corner stumbled – for the easy touchdown and a 34-0 Newtown lead.

The ‘Hawks called off the dogs, giving sophomore John Fracker a chance at QB. Later, Brookfield managed to get in the end zone with 7:02 left in the game when Travis Treibt scored on an eight-yard run.

What made the offensive outburst more impressive was that the ‘Hawks were not only without the services of DeVellis, but had to hit the field without senior running back Tyler Tarantino, senior offensive tackle Jeremy Yapp and junior running back Tim Wheeler.

“We knew we had a lot of good depth and some pretty good backups ready to go,” said coach George. “I was a little worried, but we had a good week of practice.”

The ‘Hawks will host Bethel on Friday and next Friday will be in Stratford to take on rival Bunnell in a key South-West Conference tilt.

Newtown           7      21       6      0  - 34

Brookfield           0        0       0      7    - 7

FIRST QUARTER: Newtown – Nacewicz 21 pass from LoBosco (Noonan kick). SECOND QUARTER: Newtown – Lapple 10 pass from LoBosco (Noonan kick); Newtown – C. Martin 76 pass from LoBosco (kick failed); Newtown – Goodwick 98 interception return (LoBosco pass to McNamara). THIRD QUARTER: Newtown – Lapple 30 pass from LoBosco (run failed). FOURTH QUARTER: Brookfield – Treibt 8 run (Cacace kick).

SWC STANDINGS

COLONIAL         W-L-T        PF        PA

Bunnell                5-0-0        185        59

Pomperaug          5-0-0        152        25

Masuk                  4-1-0        172        58

Newtown            4-1-0        126        67

New Milford       1-4-0          86      155

Brookfield           1-4-0          74      173

Bethel                  0-5-0          22      175

PATRIOT             W-L-T        PF        PA

Stratford              5-0-0        223        83

New Fairfield      2-3-0        126      118

Joel Barlow         2-3-0        103      107

Notre Dame        2-3-0          76        96

Weston                2-3-0        104      134

Immaculate         2-3-0        112      144

Nonnewaug        0-5-0          28      198

VOLLEYBALL

Newtown 3, Masuk 2

Newtown 3, Bethel 0

Newtown 3, Kolbe 0

With the game hanging in the balance, Morgan Knees took over.

In the fifth and deciding game last Wednesday in a key South-West Conference volleyball match with Masuk, Newtown was clinging to an 11-9 lead. Though the Lady Nighthawks had cruised through the first game, the Lady Panthers rallied in the second and third game to put the ‘Hawks back up against a wall for the first time all season.

Oh, the ‘Hawks took the fourth game somewhat comfortably to force the fifth, but an 11-5 lead had slipped to 11-9 and things suddenly weren’t looking all that rosy anymore.

But then Knees’ position rotated to the front.

And, just like that, the match was over.

First it was a blistering cross-court kill. Then it was a block. Then it was another block. And what had looked like a thrilling finish just moments before had turned into a 14-9 advantage for Newtown.

The game – and the match – ended on an unforced error.

Masuk fell to 9-3 overall.

It was Newtown’s toughest battle yet and the only time, so far, they had been extended to five games. The win put the locals at 11-0 (now 13-0 following sweeps of Bethel and Kolbe Cathedral) and set the stage, quite probably, for a battle of the unbeatens when they square off on October 22 with Joel Barlow.

Several of the Lady Falcons, in fact, were on hand last week to see the Newtown/Masuk tussle.

Knees finished with 12 kills and five blocks in the 25-13, 23-25, 23-25, 25-13, 15-9 win. Megan Casey added 10 kills from the left side along with seven digs. Ashley Palmieri and Megan Crouch combined for 21 kills to lead the Panthers.

In the 25-18, 25-18, 25-14 decision over Bethel, Knees recorded nine kills and a pair of blocks as Casey registered six kills and a couple of service aces. Emily Loose added five kills and four aces. In the 25-9, 25-11, 25-19 decision over winless Kolbe on Monday night, Ashley Rothacker and Loose had an opportunity to take over – with Rothacker registering eight assists and two service aces and Loose recording six kills and two service aces.

On maxpreps.com, the Lady Nighthawks are ranked 10th in the state of Connecticut, just behind Joel Barlow. Bristol Eastern (10-1) and RHAM (12-0) top the list. At the casciac.org web site, the ‘Hawks are ranked second in Class LL, right behind undefeated Greenwich and ahead of Amity, Cheshire, Glastonbury and South-West Conference rival New Milford.

In the state coaches’ poll, however, the locals are ranked third behind Darien and Coventry. Joel Barlow is ranked 11th and New Milford 15th.

The girls hosted Weston on Wednesday night (a reprise, perhaps, of Newtown’s 3-0 sweep back on September 19) and will be in Bunnell on Friday for a return engagement with the Lady Bulldogs (whom the locals defeated 3-1 to open the season on September 11).

The ‘Hawks will host New Milford on Monday, travel to Griswold for a non-conference match on Tuesday, and then finish off the regular season with a much anticipated match with Joel Barlow (in Redding) on Wednesday.

FIELD HOCKEY

Newtown 1, Masuk 1

Pomperaug 3, Newtown 1

The much sought-after win over Pomperaug for the Newtown High School field hockey team is going to remain much sought-after following a 3-1 loss on Tuesday night in Southbury.

Though the Lady Nighthawks played well and pressured the Lady Panthers throughout most of the game, the locals were put behind the proverbial eight ball early while falling into a 2-0 first-half hole on goals at the 24:31 and 14:13 marks.

The ‘Hawks had a couple of good swats by Hannah Tenenbaum and a nice cross by Stephanie Paproski that resulted in a real nice scoring opportunity, but could not sneak one past Pomperaug goaltender Julia Powell.

In the second half, though, just under 10 minutes in, Paproski – after a tough battle for possession in the corner – scooped a ball off the end line and crossed it in front of the cage where Renee Solheim was able to bang it home to cut the Pomperaug lead to 2-1.

A few minutes later, the locals survived a penalty stroke opportunity but a bit later on were victimized on a goal by Lizzie Dunbar off one of Pomperaug’s 10 penalty corners (the locals had just five of those on the night).

Newtown goaltender Lisa Isabella made five saves in the loss, which dropped the locals to 6-2-3 on the season.

The loss came after a 1-1 overtime draw with Masuk last week in which senior co-captain Nicole Alberico scored with just six minutes left in regulation. The 7v7 overtime session yielded no solution to the tie. Isabella made 11 saves.

The girls hosted Joel Barlow on Thursday and will be in Watertown on Friday before visiting Brookfield next Tuesday. The locals will return home next Thursday to host New Fairfield in the South-West Conference regular season finale.

A non-conference tilt with Shepaug on Monday, October 29, will finish things off before the start of post-season play.

PLAYER                         G         A      PT

Nicole Alberico             5         4        9

Hannah Tenenbaum      2         3        5

Stephanie Paproski        3         1        4

Tina Sanchez                 3         0        3

Courtney Gleason         1         2        3

Renee Solheim              2         1        1

Jackie Isabella               1         0        1

Taylor Barry                  1         0        1

Linda Magliocco           0         1        1

TOTALS                       18       12      30

Newtown 1, Masuk 1

GOALS: Masuk – Jaclyn Novitzky; Newtown – Nicole Alberico. SAVES: Newtown – Lisa Isabella 11; Masuk – Kelsey Cox 15.

Pomperaug 3, Newtown 1

GOALS: Pomperaug – Taylor Fleming, Lauren Atkinson, Lizzie Dunbar; Newtown – Renee Solheim. ASSISTS: Pomperaug – Jaime Orrico, Lauren Atkinson; Newtown – Stephanie Paproski. SHOTS: Pomperaug – 10; Newtown – 5. SAVES: Pomperaug – Julia Powell 3; Newtown – Lisa Isabella 5. PENALTY CORNERS: Pomperaug – 10; Newtown – 6.

GIRLS SOCCER

Newtown 5, Pomperaug 0

Newtown 1, Weston 0

Newtown 3, Joel Barlow 1

No need to put the cart before the horse, but it seems like a foregone conclusion that the Newtown High School girls’ soccer team should be the No. 1 seed in the South-West Conference playoffs next week.

To put a finer point on that, the undefeated No. 1 seed.

After wins over Pomperaug (5-0), Weston (1-0) and Joel Barlow (3-1 on Senior Night), the Lady Nighthawks improved to 12-0-1 overall. And all that is left on the regular season schedule are games against Bunnell (5-5-3 following a 1-0 win over cross-town rival Stratford) on Thursday and Brookfield (3-9-1 following a 1-0 loss to New Milford) next Monday.

Sure, anything could happen – especially against a fierce rival like Bunnell – but the Lady Nighthawks have been explosive on offense with Kasey Schulz (17 goals) and Tania Domingos (12 goals) accounting for better than 50% of the production. And the defense, allowing only 11 goals while goaltender Emily Kluga had registered five shutouts.

In a key 3-1 win over Joel Barlow on Tuesday, senior Megan Hansen scored a pair of goals (one of ‘em just 24 seconds into the contest) while Schulz scored a goal and provided an assist. In a 1-0 win over Weston on Saturday, Domingos scored the lone goal while Kluga made three saves for the shutout.

In the win over Pomperaug last week, Schulz and Domingos scored two goals apiece while Hansen added another. Domingos, Gabby Nastri and Ally Modzelewski all provided assists and Kluga made two saves for the shutout.

At casciac.org, the ‘Hawks are tied with Cheshire for the top spot in Class LL.

PLAYER                         G         A      PT

Tania Domingos          12       13      25

Kasey Schulz               17         7      24

Megan Hansen              8         1        9

Gabby Nastri                 2         5        7

Monica Warek              1         3        4

Brittany Papaj               0         3        3

Kelley Sullivan              2         0        2

Colleen Thornberg         1         1        2

Jen Brewer                    1         0        1

Kirsten Hudock             1         0        1

Ally Modzelewski          0         1        1

Taylor Smith                  0         1        1

Lauren Meyer                0         1        1

Kristen Tanner               0         1        1

TOTALS                       45       37      82

Newtown 5, Pomperaug 0

GOALS: Newtown – Kasey Schulz 2, Tania Domingos 2, Megan Hansen. ASSISTS: Newtown – Tania Domingos, Gabby Nastri, Ally Modzelewski. SAVES: Newtown – Emily Kluga 2.

Newtown 1, Weston 0

GOALS: Newtown – Tania Domingos. SAVES: Newtown – Emily Kluga 3; Weston – Alyssa Schaeffer (4).

Newtown 3, Joel Barlow 1

GOALS: Newtown – Megan Hansen 2, Kasey Schulz; Joel Barlow – Riley Stauffer. ASSISTS: Newtown – Kasey Schulz. SHOTS: Newtown – 19; Joel Barlow – 4. SAVES: Newtown – Emily Kluga 3; Joel Barlow – Kara Davis 14. CORNER KICKS: Newtown – 7; Joel Barlow – 0.

SWIMMING

Newtown over Brookfield

Newtown over Joel Barlow

An early deficit to Brookfield did nothing to slow down the Newtown High School girls swimming & diving team last week.

Down as much as 12 points with just three events to go, the Lady Nighthawks rallied for a thrilling 95-91 win over the Lady Bobcats. Coupled with a 95-83 win over Joel Barlow on Tuesday, the locals improved to 5-3 overall.

The ‘Hawks never led against the ‘Cats last week – that is, not until after the final relay.

Down two, the locals needed at least a first-place finish by the 400 freestyle ‘A’ relay to escape with a tie with a second- or third-place finish from the ‘B’ relay needed to push them past Brookfield.

The ‘A’ relay of Lucy Remitz, Annie Hull, Emma Atkinson and Jaclyn Van Waalwijk delivered the first-place finish at 4:03.44, a little over two seconds ahead of the Brookfield ‘A’ relay. Then came the ‘B’ relay of Krysta Gates, Lizanne Kroon, Leah Barrett and Colleen Carroll in 4:20.56, well ahead of Brookfield, to lift the ‘Hawks to the win.

Van Waalwijk (50 freestyle), Barrett (100 backstroke) and Atkinson (100 breaststroke) had the only individual wins of the afternoon. Lots of second- and third-place finishes, though, kept the locals close.

With three events left, the ‘Hawks were down 12 points, 76-64, but Barrett and Kroon went 1-3 in the 100 back and Atkinson and Megan Baylis went 1-2 in the 100 breast to help pull Newtown to within two points. Maggie Hoolehan and Lauren Hutchinson had the critical one-point, fifth-place finishes in those two events, respectively.

Against Barlow, the ‘Hawks took the lead after the 50 freestyle and never looked back. Van Waalwijk was a double winner (50 and 100 free) while Barrett (100 back) and Atkinson (100 breast) were solo winners.

The ‘Hawks also captured the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, though the last was won unofficially.

The girls hosted New Milford on Thursday and will visit Masuk on Tuesday to close out the South-West Conference regular season schedule.

Newtown 95, Brookfield 91

200 medley relay – 2. Newtown (Barrett, Baylis, Remitz, Hull) 2:05.11, 3. Newtown (Kroon, M. Atkinson, Donahue, C. Carroll) 2:20.37. 200 freestyle – 3. Gates 2:15.99, 4. Baylis 2:16.39, 5. Fragoso 2:18.27. 200 individual medley – 2. E. Atkinson 2:25.30, 4. M. Atkinson 2:33.60, 5. Kroon 2:35.95. 50 freestyle – 1. Van Waalwijk 26.37, 3. Hull, 5. Barrett 29.12. 100 butterfly – 2. Remitz 1:09.04, 3. M. Atkinson 1:13.31, 5. M. Carroll 1:20.34. 100 freestyle – 2. Van Waalwijk 59.80, 4. C. Carroll 1:05.19, 5. Fahey 1:05.78. 500 freestyle – 2. Van Waalwijk 5:47.72, 4. Gates 6:08.73, 6. Fragoso. 200 freestyle relay – 2. Newtown (E. Atkinson, C. Carroll, Remitz, Van Waalwijk) 1:51.33, 3. Newtown (Hoolehan, Dunn, Lawrence, Donahue) 1:58.72. 100 backstroke – 1. Barrett 1:07.63, 3. Kroon 1:10.85, 5. Hoolehan 1:21.33. 400 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Remitz, Hill, E. Atkinson, Van Waalwijk) 4:03.44, 3. Newtown (Gates, Kroon, Barrett, C. Carroll) 4:20.56.

Newtown 95, Joel Barlow 83

200 medley relay – 2. Newtown (Barrett, E. Atkinson, Remitz, Van Waaiwjk) 2:04.90, 3. Newtown (Kroon, Baylis, Donahue, C. Carroll) 2:10.54. 200 freestyle – 2. Gates 2:15.95, 3. Fragoso 2:18.36, 5. Fahey 2:19.99. 200 individual medley – 2. E. Atkinson 2:24.32, 3. M. Atkinson 2:34.11, 4. Kroon 2:36.11. 50 freestyle – 1. Van Waalwijk 26.68, 2. Hull 28.10, 4. Barrett 28.63. 100 butterfly – 2. Remitz 1:08.23, 4. M. Atkinson 1:19.11, 5. M. Carroll 1:21.20. 100 freestyle – 1. Van Waalwijk 57.83, 2. Hull 1:01.03, 4. C. Carroll 1:04.70. 500 freestyle – 2. Kroon 6:01.66, 3. Gates 6:02.24, 4. Baylis 6:17.77. 200 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (E. Atkinson, Remitz, Hull, Van Waalwijk) 1:52.00. 100 backstroke – 1. Barrett 1:05.25, 3. C. Carroll 1:15.98, 4. Hoolehan 1:16.95. 100 breaststroke – 1. E. Atkinson 1:15.19, 3. Baylis 1:17.61, 4. Fragoso 1:24.23. 400 freestyle relay – 1. Newtown (Remitz, Kroon, C. Carroll, Hull) 4:12.99, 3. Newtown (M. Kroon, Donahue, Fahey, Gates) 4:18.62.

*Note: Newtown swam the final two events unofficially

 

BOYS SOCCER

Newtown 1, Weston 1

Pomperaug 2, Newtown 0

Newtown 1, Joel Barlow 1

With 160 minutes of soccer in the books, there has been no resolution to the Newtown/Joel Barlow boys’ soccer rivalry.

After a 0-0 draw to open the 2007 back on the September 11, the Nighthawks and Falcons followed up with a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night in Redding. That particular draw – the second in a row for Newtown – pushed the ‘Hawks to 5-3-5 on the season.

The Falcons moved to 7-2-4.

Barlow opened the scoring in the first half, about 12 minutes in, but Newtown answered back with about 20 minutes left in the second half when Connor Collier scored off an assist from Sean Ryan. It was a solid effort for the ‘Hawks, who out-shot the Falcons on the night.

That draw came after the ‘Hawks battled Weston to a 1-1 decision last Saturday. Evan Kennedy scored in the first half off a free kick, but with less than three minutes left in the game Daniel Toutoungi evened things up on a penalty kick.

That followed a 2-0 loss to Pomperaug last week at the DeGroat/Anderson Complex. Earlier in the season, the ‘Hawks were stifled by the Panthers, 4-0, but last week put together a much better effort despite the ultimate decision.

Shayan Riahi and Chris Comeau scored the only goals of the game. Newtown goaltender Dan Smith made five saves in net.

The locals hosted Bunnell on Thursday night and will close out the regular season on Monday, at Blue & Gold Stadium, against Brookfield.

PLAYER                         G         A      PT

Andrew Meisel              5         3        8

Neris Halili                    4         2        6

Eric Thornberg               3         3        6

Connor Collier               3         3        6

Evan Kennedy               3         2        5

Sean Ryan                     3         1        4

Ben Mahony                  1         2        3

Ryan Hudock                1         2        3

Jeff DiNicola                 1         1        2

Kyle Droniak                 1         1        2

Chris Marks                    1         1        2

TOTALS                       26       21      47

Newtown 1, Weston 1

GOALS: Newtown – Evan Kennedy; Weston – Daniel Toutoungi (penalty kick). SHOTS: Weston – 4; Newtown – 19. SAVES: Weston – John David Thomson 6, Jared Shaner 6; Newtown – Kyle DiNicola 5. CORNER KICKS: Weston – 1; Newtown – 5.

Pomperaug 2, Newtown 0

GOALS: Pomperaug – Shayan Riahi, Chris Comeau. ASSISTS: Pomperaug – Joseph Shannon, Eric Pattison. SHOTS: Pomperaug –11; Newtown – 16. SAVES: Pomperaug – Tom Berlenbach 5; Newtown – Dan Smith 5. CORNER KICKS: Pomperaug – 1; Newtown – 6.