In a battle of unbeaten South-West Conference football rivals, Newtown High School’s football team shook off some mistakes and penalties and overcame a tough Brookfield squad for a 21-14 victory at Blue & Gold Stadium on October 24. Newtown improved to 7-0 and Brookfield fell to 6-1 in a rematch of last season’s conference championship game, won by Newtown.

The host Nighthawks scored all of their points in the opening half as Nick Rubino and Jaret DeVellis both scored on a three-yard runs, and Jacob Burden hooked up with Julian Dunn on a 17-yard TD pass.

Newtown fell behind for the first time this season when the Bobcats cashed in on a fumbled punt return for an early score. Newtown turned the ball over with an interception on the next possession, but the defense held strong throughout most of the rest of the game.

After the teams traded punts in an uneventful third quarter, the Bobcats capitalized on some of Newtown’s penalties, including a 15-yard roughing the passer call, to pull back to within a touchdown with 8:56 left in the fourth quarter.

The Bobcats only allowed Newtown to move the ball into their territory during one second-half drive, with a little more than three minutes remaining. Brookfield appeared to make a stop for a final chance to tie the score, but a roughing the punter penalty gave Newtown a fresh set of downs with a little more than a minute remaining, and the Nighthawks ran out the clock.

Read more about the game in the October 31 print edition of The Bee.