By Kim J. Harmon

NEW MILFORD – The difference between a good team and a great team may be a matter of belief and two hours after coach Ken Roberts questioned whether or not his team believed, the Nighthawks went out and showed him they did.

Now, no one is going to say that the Nighthawks played well in a 30-14 victory over New Milford last Friday in the annual Boot Trophy game, but maybe another difference between a good team and a great team is the ability to sleepwalk through a game against a strong team and still win it handily.

Which is what the ‘Hawks did.

It might have had something to do with the weather – the incessant drizzle that fell nearly all day served to narrow the field for the Nighthawks and made them attack New Milford from tackle to tackle while also limiting the ability to pass the ball.

This one began, though, could survive as a tale of the defense.

Matt McCarthy – as usual, it seems – was the purveyor of most of the damage. The litany of his night includes a sack and three fumble recoveries, the second of which he literally pulled out of quarterback Tim Spada’s hands before rambling 16 yards for a second-quarter touchdown.

Kyle Tobin and Adam Hayden were up to their usual tricks, too, each running for a touchdown in the fashion in which they have become accustomed – Hayden had to shrug off three tackles to score his and Tobin dodged and danced 80 yards for his.

Senior Matt Saunders, whose usual base of operations is on the defensive side of the ball, also scored a touchdown on a 14-yard, fourth-quarter jolt up the middle.

As easy as it seems when looking at the box score, no one was happy with the effort following the game. Even with a 16-point differential lingering on the imaginary scoreboard (New Milford’s scoreboard was on the blink last Friday), coach Roberts categorized the win as ugly during the post-game huddle with his team.

No doubt he was thinking about the clipping, offensive pass interference, encroachment, illegal procedure, and holding penalties that killed drives, the two fumbles, the four sacks allowed, the six incomplete passes and one interception.

The ‘Hawks were able to overcome that, though, with a steady rushing attack. Tobin led the way with 136 yards on 12 carries while Saunders had his best game with 101 yards on 10 carries (one carry alone accounting for 55 yards). Hayden also rushed the ball 13 times for 72 yards and Mark Werbeck picked up two yards the one time he carried the ball.

That comes to 311 yards on 36 carries for the night – enough, it seems, to overcome a passing game which accounted for just eight yards on two completions.

It may have been an ugly win but it was a win the ‘Hawks needed if they wanted to keep their South-West Conference and CIAC Class L state playoff hopes alive.

The big game though, in regard to the SWC playoffs, was the following night when Bunnell battled Masuk in a game between the conference’s only two undefeated teams. The ‘Hawks needed Bunnell to win in order to qualify for the championship game (which is tonight, November 17), but the Bulldogs – with Shannon James limited to just 19 yards on 12 carries – were defeated by the Panthers, 7-3.

While that game ended the Nighthawks’ hopes of a SWC title, it did nothing against their efforts to qualify for the CIAC Class L state playoffs. Currently ranked fourth in Class L, the ‘Hawks would lock up a spot with a win over Masuk on Wednesday, November 22, in the annual Thanksgiving Day (or, in this case, pre-Thanksgiving Day) game.

Newtown     8       16     0       6       - 30

New Milford 0       0       6       8       - 14

 

First Quarter

N – Hayden, 20-yard run (Petretti pass to Hayden)

Second Quarter

N – McCarthy, 16-yard fumble return (Hayden run)

N – Tobin, 80-yard run (Petretti pass to Saunders)

Third Quarter

NM – Haynes, 64-yard pass from Spada (pass failed)

Fourth Quarter

N – Saunders, 14-yard run (pass failed)

NM – Fairchild, 1-yard run (Spada pass to Haynes)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING    ATT  YDS   TD

Kyle Tobin    12      136     1

Matt Saunders         10      101     1

Adam Hayden 13      72      1

Mark Werbeck         1        2        0

Totals        36     311    3

 

PASSING    ATT  CMP  YDS   TD

Rich Petretti  2        9        8        0

RECEIVING REC  YDS   TD

Nick Savino    2        8        0

CIAC CLASS L RANKINGS

 

PL     SCHOOL    W-L-T       AVG

1        Masuk 9-0-0  144.44

2        Berlin  9-0-0  142.22

3        Fitch   8-0-0  129.38

4        NEWTOWN   8-1-0  126.67

5        Farmington    7-1-1  118.33

6        Ledyard        7-1-0  115.63

7        Weaver         7-1-0  115.00

8        Rockville       7-2-0  112.22

9        McMahon      7-2-0  111.11

10      Wilton 7-2-0  105.56

The CIAC_Class L state semi-finals will be held Tuesday, November 28, at the home of the higher-ranked team. The finals will be held Saturday, December 2.