Eighth Grade Gridders Grind Out Another Championship

Newtown’s eighth grade football team won the American Youth Football Colonial League championship this past week. Semifinal playoff and title game results are as follows:

Newtown 32, Aspetuck 14: Newtown dominated this semifinal playoff game as it built a 32-0 lead early in the second half and coasted to victory over Aspetuck for the third time this season. Charlie Fletcher blocked a punt for the second week in a row, and Jared Pearson (9 carries for 185 yards) scored on the very next play from 25 yards out behind a block by Greg Harrison. The Hawks next score came on a safety as Pearson made a tackle in the end zone.

Early in the second quarter, Aspetuck put nine in the box daring Newtown to pass. That is exactly what the Hawks did, as Pearson connect with Ethan Carpenter for 32 yards, and then hit Matt Elias in stride for a 27-yard touchdown completion. Henry Lyon made the first of three straight extra point kicks for a 16-0 lead. Defensively, Newtown came with pressure, resulting in sacks by Jeremy Salaris, Nick Samuelson, and Pearson, a fumble recovery by Ryan Shaw caused by a riveting Mark Urso hit,  and interceptions by Devin Luzietti and Andrew Svanda – the latter returned 55 yards to set up a John DelRossi four-yard touchdown plunge (behind blocks by Justin Faith and Stephen Pansa) right before the half.

Pearson scored on a 50-yard keeper on the first play of the third quarter. Newtown then had to play conservatively due to league scoring restrictions.

Defensively in the second half, Luzietti made a leaping one-handed grab for his second interception, Sam Duffy recorded a sack, and Justin Appley and R.J. Oliviera had tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

Newtown 24, Norwalk 20: Newtown won championship for the second time in three appearances with an exciting come-from-behind victory over the previously undefeated Norwalk Packers. The Hawks were champs as fourth graders in 2007 with a victory over Norwalk, and runners-up to eventual national champion Bridgeport last year. This game had everything one would expect from a championship contest between two evenly-matched teams (Norwalk beat Newtown 16-14 and the teams tied 14-14 this year). The game featured several lead changes, explosive offensive plays, jarring tackling, a pivotal turnover, and a result that was not decided until the final whistle. The teams traded two possessions apiece in a scoreless first quarter as the defenses dictated play.

 An unfortunate occurrence early in the quarter was a season-ending injury to two-way starter Ethan Carpenter. The Hawks, however, got on track early in the second quarter. Jared Pearson (14 carries for 95 yards) had two first down runs on third down, and Matt Elias broke a tackle on a screen pass to get an important first down inside the Packer 10 yard line. On third down, Pearson snuck it in from the 1 behind blocks by Jeremy Salaris and Christian Morlock. The extra point kick was no good (the one glaring weakness for the Hawks on this day was the inability to convert on extra points, as all four attempts were either blocked or pressured). With a minute remaining in the second quarter, Norwalk tied the game with a 22-yard sweep around left end.

Highlights for the half included tackles for losses by Bryan Kiley, Nick Samuelson, and Ryan Shaw, a big sack by Chance McMahon to disrupt a drive, and a nine-yard reception by Steve Faxlanger that led to a first down. As action-packed as the first half was, the start of the third quarter brought a whole new level of intensity, as both teams realized they might only have 20 minutes remaining in the season. 

Consecutive tackles behind the line of scrimmage by Mark Urso forced Norwalk to punt on its opening drive. The Hawks came out in a duel-quarterback formation and needed just two plays to score –  a 19-yard explosion by Pearson in which he ran over several defenders, and a 22-yard pass from Matt Maturo to Andrew Svanda (3 receptions for 46 yards), in which Svanda spun away from a tackler at the 15 and rumbled into the end zone.

The Packers wasted little time responding, as they returned the kickoff 70 yards for the score (the first return TD given up by Newtown this year). The extra point kick was good (the only successful kick of the game), giving Norwalk its first lead, 14-12.

Back came Newtown. Maturo had a pair of 13-yard completions to Pearson and Svanda for first downs, before Pearson called an on-field audible and lofted a perfect back shoulder pass to Elias, who out-jumped a defender at the 2 and spun into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown.

Norwalk’s answer was a 46-yard scoring burst up the middle on fourth down that concluded the third quarter. Trailing 20-18 entering the fourth, the Hawks started with good field possession due to a failed onside kick. Pearson had a 19-yard run to set up a first down on the Norwalk 27, but three plays later Newtown faced a fourth and nine. Maturo tried to thread the needle on a slant to Pearson, but the pass glanced off of Pearson and a defender. As Norwalk celebrated, a flag was noticed on the sideline – pass interference.

Norwalk protested, but the call stood (game video reveled the call was correct, Newtown coaches said). With a fresh set of downs after 15 yards were marked off, Svanda secured a first down at the 2 behind a block by Carlo Fenaroli, and Pearson followed the blocking of Samuelson, Shaw, and Declan Sullivan around the right side for the go-ahead score. The momentum was clearly in Newtown’s corner after Michael Doyle’s onside kick was recovered by a diving Urso at midfield. However, Norwalk’s defense stiffened and forced Newtown to punt.

The Packers picked up a first down, and had a runner break free around the right side for ten yards (and what looked to be much more) when Svanda delivered a crushing blow that knocked the ball loose.

The omnipresent Charlie Fletcher swooped in for the recovery. There was 2:30 left in the game, and Norwalk had one timeout remaining. One first down would seal the victory, but the Packers again would not yield, forcing another punt. Pearson boomed it, but the Packers returned it 40 yards to near midfield. The clock showed 17 seconds and Norwalk was out of timeouts.

The first play was a completed pass to the sideline, but Pearson made the tackle inbounds. Victory for Newtown? Not yet. The clock was never started. In fact, the clock did not start until Norwalk ran its next play, a 33 yard pass completion in which Doyle made a game-saving tackle at the 20 yard line.  Game over? Not yet. The Norwalk receiver feigned injury, Newtown’s coaches said, and the clock was stopped with 3.5 seconds remaining and not restarted until Norwalk was ready to snap the ball. The final play was again a pass, where the Norwalk QB looked right and then came back to the left for the slanting receiver. However, John DelRossi and Devin Luzietti were not fooled as they broke up the pass. Game finally over? Yes. Newtown won the title and a date with undefeated Torrington in the State Championship game (scheduled for Sunday, November 13 at 5 pm at Shelton High School).