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A ‘Surreal’ Moment In Newtown

Ashville native Pete Ward, right, shares a special moment with his son, Riley, after Newtown High School won the Connecticut state football title. Photo courtesy of Pete Ward

I wish this column had a dateline. I wish it could read “Trumbull, Conn.”

Because if it did, it would have meant I saw Newtown’s 13-7 victory over Darien in the Class LL state football championship game.

That would have also meant that I would have witnessed in real time one of the most incredible sports endings seven years to the day from one of the worst moments in U.S. history — when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, killing 26 students and educators.

In the absence of being at Trumbull High School — site of the title game — I did the next best thing and texted area native Pete Ward, thanks to a big assist from his older brother, Bill, who provided me with the contact information. I figured if there was anyone who could add perspective to what I’d seen on social media over the weekend it would be Pete, a Chautauqua Central School graduate (Class of ’85) and proud dad to senior wideout Riley.

But even Pete had trouble describing it, settling for words like “surreal” and “unbelievable.”

In the end, less than two weeks before Christmas, the Newtown community and its football team received a gift that came in the form of a perfectly thrown pass as time expired.

The ball, delivered by junior quarterback Jack Street, traveled through the fog and into the arms of 17-year-old Riley, who six minutes earlier had caught a game-tying 75-yard TD pass. Two strides later, Riley was in the end zone for the game-winning score.

“A lot of people were saying right before that (final) play that the fog lifted ever so slightly … so you could actually see the ball when it came down,” said Pete, 52. “It was definitely a defensive battle most of the game … (but) when they called my son’s number he answered the bell, which was quite a moment.”

The touchdown meant a state title, the first for Newtown in 27 years. The video from that final play — highlighted by Riley ripping off his helmet, throwing it into the air and running through the back of the end zone where he was swarmed by his teammates — was SportsCenter’s top play.

Ultimately, the players raced to the bleachers on the other side of the field where they were greeted by their delirious fans, many of whom, according to the Hartford Courant, were wearing green apparel and face paint to honor the Sandy Hook victims.

“I had people just grabbing me and shaking me,” Pete said. “I actually knocked my girlfriend over, because I was getting pulled around so much. It was disbelief. … It was mayhem.”

It was also seven years to the day after the tragedy at Sandy Hook.

“It’s always a somber day,” Pete said. “We try and support each other and support our friends who lost children.”

That tradition was carried on early Saturday afternoon when 75 to 100 people showed up for a sendoff for the team at Newtown High School.

“It started kind of quiet,” said Pete, a strategy consultant in the investment industry. “As the boys came out, it got louder and louder, transitioning from sadness and remembrance to, ‘Hey, we’ve got this game and we’re all behind this team.'”

Fast-forward several hours. After most of the postgame celebration had subsided, Pete found Riley on the field.

“I hugged him and told him that I loved him,” Pete said. “All he could do was say, ‘Let’s goooooooo!!!!”

The excitement of that state championship and the way it happened will likely wear off a little bit over time, but the impact it had on the still-grieving community in Connecticut cannot be overstated.

“It wasn’t only a football game,” Pete said. “The town really used it as a rallying cry and made sure we stayed together and remembered all those who are lost.”

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