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While the Newtown football team is in its stretch lines before practices and games, first-year coach Dan Farina tries to get around to every player.
But there’s that one person in particular who always ends up with Farina in the middle: Jack Chappa.
“I always find that I’m in the middle chatting with Jack every day,” Farina said. “He’s a fun, smart kid, a really good person and football player, and a good role model.”
And why not? Not only is Chappa a team captain and one of the Nighthawks’ biggest weapons as a top defensive end, he’s also someone who helped ease the team’s transition to a new coach and a new scheme.
The 6-foot, 215-pound Chappa used a baseball reference when talking about the change in coaches from Bobby Pattison, who stepped down in January after seven years, to Farina, a former New Canaan assistant.
“When we got a new coach it was definitely a major curveball,” Chappa said. “At the start we kind of just went with the flow. We kept old Newtown traditions, but we brought in new ideas with coach Farina.”
So far, Newtown has done nothing but win.
The Nighthawks carry a spotless 6-0 record and the No. 4 ranking in the GameTimeCT Top 10 poll into a marquee matchup against No. 7 West Haven (5-1) at 7 p.m., Friday, in Newtown.
Defense has been a key for Newtown under coordinator Steve Neugebauer. The Nighthawks have surrendered just 57 points, an average of 9.5 per game, with only 34 coming in the past five games.
They’ll be tasked with slowing down a West Haven team which had been averaging more than 40 points per game before being held to 13 during an eight-point loss to North Haven in Week 7.
“What works for us is communicating,” Chappa said of the defense. “We make sure everyone knows what everyone else is doing. Even in practice, we’re loud, we’re physical and we’re fast. We practice how we play and that translates to the games.”
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Chappa has built on an already impressive career this season, leading the Nighthawks in sacks with five and tackles for a loss with 9.5, while also racking up 30 tackles, including 21 solo.
He was a New Haven Register All-State first team selection as a junior, and in his career has 19.5 sacks, 35.5 tackles for a loss, and 153 tackles, including 81 solo.
He’s also looking to continue playing football in college and has offers from MIT and RPI, a testament to his football ability and high academic standing.
“He’s really insightful,” Farina said. “He’s a very smart kid, takes a ton of AP classes and has applied to some pretty prestigious colleges and hopefully, he’ll land somewhere great and play football.”
Chappa has made a couple of adjustments to his game this season, taking on a greater role against the run, and dealing with double teams.
“Teams have definitely been double-teaming me more so I’ve been working on that in practice, getting off double teams,.” Chappa said. “I didn’t have to do that as much last year. Now that I made first team All-State, I’ve got more of a target on my back and I need to understand that and deal with it.”
Farina said the coaches asked Chappa, already a fantastic pass-rusher, to play the run. The coach described it as essentially playing “two different positions,” and Chappa has flourished at both.
“He’s done a really good job of completing himself as a player,” Farina said. “Now, he plays the run with as much confidence and technique as he did the pass last year. He was super-good at getting up the field last year.
“It makes him all the more dangerous.”
Chappa, along with fellow senior captains JJ Haddick and Cole Wanzer, were also key as Farina got to know the team after being hired in February.
“I sat down with the captains and learned more about them, the stuff that they wanted to see and the goals they wanted to accomplish,” Farina said. “Jack was integral in that process.”
The coaches and players figured out what worked best for the team and went from there, according to Chappa. Farina introduced a two-platoon system, which has worked well, and the team quickly learned new schemes and plays.
“When it came to the playbook, we are fortunate to have a lot of smart guys on the team who were able to learn the plays quickly,” Chappa said. “So when the regular season started, we were able to hit the ground running.”
Newtown’s defensive talent is widespread.
Chappa pointed out fellow DE Dylan Macey who has stepped up after missing time with a broken wrist last year and then switching from linebacker this season, as well as nose guard Aidan Molina, a sophomore, who jumped into a starting spot when senior Joe Soriano suffered an ACL tear.
There’s also senior LBs Haddick, Evan Nikolis and Jackson Chacon having big seasons, along with Braden Macey, Brian Reyes, Aydyn and Justyn Gonazlez, Andrew Grenier and safety Ryan Zaniewski in the secondary.
When West Haven comes to Newtown on Friday, the Nighthawks are expecting another big crowd, something which has made playing for Newtown special for Chappa.
“It’s been fantastic,” he said. “We get great crowds at the game, the community comes out to support us, and we try to give back to them in the offseason with community service.
“All around, it’s an incredible feeling.”
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