When opposing team would-be tackles are broken and offenses are stymied this fall, it will be because of - in large part - a tremendous offseason effort put forth by football players. Annual summertime high school football workouts have been unfolding on hot and humid days as teams gear up for opening kickoff.

Newtown High School's gridiron battlers have been training together five days each week throughout the summer, working on fitness, endurance, and agility for a couple of hours every morning as they count down for the payoff to all of this hard work.

"It's pretty tough. We get after it out here, getting better every day. It's worth it when it comes down to it," said Matt Dubois, a captain who plays linebacker on defense and is a running back.

"Everybody's really putting in 100 percent effort with everything they do and you get better that way," Dubois said during a brief break on the Blue & Gold Stadium turf.

In addition to weight training and running, the players group into teams and engage in competitions throughout the summer. On Fridays, they cap the week with a prowler push race, work in pairs to flip tractor tires, and go at it in good old rope burn-causing tug of war.

"It's fun. They work hard during the summer. We still like to work, but this way they get to compete and have a little fun while they do it," said Tyler Tarantino, a 2008 NHS graduate who coaches the running backs. "They work hard all winter and all summer, and this is definitely the backbone of the program. This way we're ready to go."

Included in the winter training was the Nutmeg State Games High School Weight Lifting Competition. The Nighthawks showed their strength, finishing first among two-dozen teams from throughout the state. Despite the success, the Nighthawks know it takes more than sheer collective dominant strength in the weight room to come out on top.

"It has to translate to the field though. The kids know that," Newtown Coach Bobby Pattison said.

The players also participated in 7 on 7 summer leagues a couple of nights each week to run through plays and tune up for the regular slate of games.

Basically, since the final whistle last November, the team members have been doing some sort of training to stay in shape for the next season.

"It's a long offseason, but the kids are doing what they need to do to be successful," Pattison added. "I think what we do in the summer helps us be successful year in and year out."

Last fall, the Nighthawks went 7-3 and finished tenth in the Class LL state rankings, capping off the season by handing South-West Conference rival Masuk of Monroe its lone loss in the annual Thanksgiving Even contest; the Panthers went on to go all the way to the Class L state title game before losing to Hand of Madison.

"I think the way last year finished, with an upset victory, it gave us a lot of momentum. Hats off to the seniors. They got these underclassmen into the offseason with confidence," Pattison said.

Newtown lost only three starters to graduation a year ago. In addition to maintaining winning ways, the somewhat inexperienced Nighthawk gridders certainly had a lot of exposure to game play last fall.

"That should be paying off for us this year," Tarantino said.

"I think we're going to have a good season this year. We've got a lot of good athletes, and I like what we're doing with the coaches," Dubois added.

The official start of practice is in mid-August. Soon enough, the players will be in full equipment and getting ready for preseason scrimmages. And before they know it, the games will really mean something.

The regular season begins when Newtown hosts New Fairfield on Friday, September 7. The next week is the first of two nonconference tilts when Cheshire visits Blue & Gold. In another non-SWC tilt, and a rare afternoon start, the Hawks travel to Norwich Free Academy on Saturday, October 13. All other games are set for 7 pm, including Wednesday, November 21, when Masuk comes to town.