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Erin Nikitchyuk/Wikipedia
Newtown High School.
- Newtown High School won the Connecticut state football championship on the final play of the game on the seven-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in which 26 children and educators were murdered.
- Junior Jack Street hit senior wide receiver Riley Ward on a last-second 36-yard touchdown pass to beat Darien 13-7 in the Class LL Connecticut state title game.
- The win capped off a perfect 13-0 season and was Newtown's first state title since 1992.
On the anniversary of Newtown, Conn.'s darkest day, the area's high school football team was able to bring a bit of joy.
Newtown scored a last-second touchdown to win the Connecticut Class LL state title on the seven-year anniversary of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in which 26 children and educators were killed, making it one of the deadliest school shootings in American history.
Junior quarterback Jack Street hit senior wide receiver Riley Ward on a 36-yard touchdown pass as time expired to secure a 13-7 win over Darien. The win capped off a perfect 13-0 season and was Newtown's first state title since 1992.
According to the Hartford Courant, some members of Newtown's current football team had attended Sandy Hook. Ben Pinto, a linebacker on the Newtown team, lost his younger brother Jack in the 2012 shooting, the paper reported.
As a way to honor the victims of the shooting, fans and players donned green.
On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School after murdering his mother. Lanza committed suicide inside the school. Then-President Barack Obama described it as the worst day of his presidency.
Newtown trailed Darien a majority of the game after the Blue Wave scored a touchdown in the second quarter to take a 7-0 lead, according to the Hartford Courant. However, Street found Ward for a 75-yard touchdown pass to tie the game with 6:58 remaining.
"I couldn't have asked for anything more," Ward told the Hartford Courant. "I love this town, I love everybody. I'm at a loss for words."
WOW! Holy crap. Newtown wins the CLASSS LL title 13-7 over Darien I'm the final play Jack Street hits Riley Ward for 36-yard TD #cthsfb
Newtown's first state title since 1992 pic.twitter.com/BfSMc0rNIy
- Pete Paguaga (@PetePaguaga) December 14, 2019