Last year was supposed to be the year, but this campaign turned out to be the one for Newtown High School’s boys’ golf team. The Nighthawks surprised defending champion Pomperaug of Southbury, and the rest of the field, to claim the South-West Conference championship at Danbury’s Ridgewood Country Club, on May 29. The Nighthawks shot 322 and the Panthers shot a 336.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling to win this thing,” Newtown Coach Bill Flood said. “This was a total team effort today.”

Last spring, Flood’s team was edged by Pomperaug by just one stroke for its only regular-season setback, and had confidence going into the conference championship match, but settled for a runner-up finish. “We thought we had the best chance last year,” Flood admitted.

The goal, at the start of this spring, was again to contend for a title, but heading into the pinnacle match, Pomperaug — having gone undefeated in the regular season — was a clear favorite. Newtown, in fact, lost three matches, falling twice to Masuk of Monroe, and losing by 11 strokes to Pomperaug. The Hawks narrowly defeated Joel Barlow of Redding (by two strokes) and Weston (by a stroke), but finished the season strongly by winning seven straight matches, not to mention gaining some confidence by edging out Pomperaug in the Woodland Invitational.

“This team here overachieved,” Flood said.

Juniors Colin Patrick and Josh Houle, consistently among the top golfers in the conference, shot a 78 and 80, respectively, to lead the Hawks in the SWC championship. Senior Graham Hubbert, who has also been strong contributor throughout the campaign, fired an 81. Senior Jacob Burden, who stepped up and became a top-four golfer on the squad, shot an 83. Freshman Ryan Patrick emerged as the No. 5 golfer in the lineup after several team members contended for that spot as the season unfolded, and he shot a 90 in the championship match.

Flood notes that the Nighthawks who didn’t compete in the SWC match have played a key role in the team’s success this spring. “All the kids challenged each other,” the coach said.