Greyhounds are pretty hard to catch. Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team found this to be the case, but they almost got the job done after falling far behind against its Division III state playoff second-round opponent on March 7. The host and sixth-seeded Naugatuck Greyhounds staved off a resilient 11th-seeded Nighthawk squad that nearly erased a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit. Naugatuck prevailed 66-60.

In a game of big runs, Newtown’s last push wasn’t quite enough. In Class LL state tournament quarterfinal-round play, the fifth-seeded Newtown High School girls’ basketball team trailed by 21 points in the fourth quarter before pulling to within four and possessing the ball with 1:16 to play at Hamden on March 7.

Newtown High School’s boys’ swimming and diving team, behind a pair of school record-setting performances, placed tenth in the Class LL state championship meet, at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven on March 11.

Patrick Afriyie’s dream of playing in the National Football League became a realization this past season. Afriyie, who grew up learning the game of X’s and O’s in Newtown, competed on the Los Angeles Chargers’ practice squad this past season and signed a futures contract to stay with the Chargers for the 2019-20 season.

Despite trimming large deficits down to just four points, both Newtown High School’s girls’ and boys’ basketball teams lost season-ending state playoff games on the road, and the NHS hockey team also fell in postseason action on March 7,

Newtown Youth Football and Cheer (NYFC) has a storied tradition in town dating back to 1969, making this its 50th year. The organization's board hopes to attract new student-athletes and parents into its family at an open house and meeting set for Thursday, March 14, at the Newtown High School cafeteria, from 7 to 9 pm.

Newtown High School’s boys’ basketball team erased an 11-point deficit in the second half to edge visiting Capital Prep of Hartford 54-53 in overtime of the Division III state tournament’s first round, on March 5.

The Newtown and Wilton high school boys’ hockey teams were not able to settle anything through 45 minutes of regulation and an eight-minute overtime in their regular-season meeting — a 3-3 tie back in early January. But Newtown took all of 1:46 to take the lead for good on the way to taking care of unfinished business in a convincing manner with a 7-2 triumph in their rematch.

In an impressive postseason follow-up to their South-West Conference championship Newtown High School’s cheerleading team placed second in the state championship competition, at Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven, on March 3.