Sandy Hook, CT — A combination of long-yardage West Haven plays and missed opportunities for the Nighthawks added up to the Newtown High School football team suffering its first setback. Visiting West Haven used a handful plays that went for 50 or so yards and some clutch third- and fourth-down conversions to earn a 41-31 victory at Blue & Gold Stadium on October 27. This was a battle of two top teams in the state. The South-West Conference Nighthawks stand at third in the Class L state rankings and Southern Connecticut Conference West Haven is second in Class LL. The Nighthawks missed an early field goal but answered West Haven's first touchdown when J.J. Haddick scored on a six-yard run with 1:15 left in the opening quarter. West Haven promptly answered with a 55-yard scoring play through the air with 54 ticks left in the opening quarter and held a 14-7 lead after one. In the second quarter, Newtown had first and goal at the eight yard line and was knocking on the door with fourth and inches to score but got stymied. The visitors marched 99 yards, highlighted by a pair of key third down conversions, and made it a 20-7 game on a 23-yard rush to paydirt with 3:40 to go before the half. The Nighthawks marched deep into West Haven territory but an interception at the two yard line thwarted that attempt to get closer. Newtown's defense dug in and forced a West Haven punt attempt and the punter stepped on the back line of the end zone for a safety, making it 20-9. That's the way things stood at the intermission. West Haven quarterback Nick Conlan got loose on a broken play and ran 36 yards to the Nighthawk 13 yard line. That led to a fourth and five TD pass from eight yards out. The two-point conversion extended the lead to 28-9 less than three minutes out of the break. The Hawks got within 12 on a strange 47-yard play. Haddick carried 30-plus yards before the ball was stripped. The pigskin was scooped by Jayden Taylor who carried about 15 yards into the paint for a TD with 7:46 to go in the third. West Haven got six points back on a scoring play of 50-plus yards; the point after failed but it was 34-16 with 3:26 left in the third quarter. Nighthawk quarterback Jayden Cordova came up with a pair of third down conversion completions, one to James Hartigan and the other to Emmet Regan. But the drive stalled out at the West Haven 33 with a minute-plus left in the quarter. It was 34-16 heading to the fourth. Jackson Chacon got to the usually-elusive Conlan for a QB sack early in the fourth. Newtown took over following a punt and clawed to within 34-24 on Haddick's direct-snap TD rush from three yards out. A two-point pass play from Cordova to Hartigan capped the scoring sequence with 8:33 left in the game. Ayden Paulos had a pair big gains on the ground to help set up the scoring play. The Nighthawks made a stop on fourth down and marched into field goal range but could not connect on a 33-yard boot which would have made it a one-possession game with 3:33 left. The teams exchanged late-game TDs with Haddick concluding the scoring with a one-yard rush for six with 28 seconds left. "They're a good football team," Newtown Coach Dan Farina said. "Their team is dangerous. Every kid can score. ... We let up the big plays." Farina was please that his team made this a contest and likes how his group is representing the town. "I'm proud of our kids. We played tough," he said. "We wanted a test and this is the test we got. We found out a lot about our football team." Including that the Nighthawks do not give up. Farina said the Hawks will watch game tape to determine areas in which they can improve as they look to bounce back. Newtown visits Pomperaug of Southbury on Friday, November 3, at 6:30 pm. https://www.newtownbee.com/10272023/big-plays-missed-opportunities-add-up-to-football-teams-first-loss/