Swierbut does it all for Nighthawks
Senior plays key role for Newtown in all three phases, leading team into annual showdown against Masuk
NEWTOWN — Andrew Swierbut remembers watching Newtown football’s memorable 2019 state championship drive from the sidelines.
Just a freshman at the time, Swierbut observed as his older brother, Will, and his teammates hysterically celebrated the most notable championship in recent Connecticut history. Now with Newtown sitting at 8-1, he and
his fellow seniors are attempting to carve out their own legacy.
While underwhelming in stature, listed as 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds on the roster, Swierbut has become an enormous presence for a Nighthawks roster that currently ranks third in Class L, first in the SWC and No. 10 in the GameTimeCT Top 10 Poll.
“With Andrew, the athleticism is there, and I think he is often overlooked when you look at him because of his size,” Newtown coach Bobby Pattison said. “But he plays with passion and a lot of heart. He does whatever we ask of him, and he just plays hard. I am really impressed by him and how he gives every ounce of
effort.”
He has been asked to do perhaps more than any other player in the state.
When Newtown takes the field, there is hardly a play where Swiss Army knife-Swierbut is on the sidelines.
“He might be giving up 50 pounds to a guy, but it doesn’t matter because he makes up for it with his speed, power, tenacity and will to get the job done,” Pattison said. “He has done a great job offensively, defensively, special teams, punt returns, kick returns, and then he is also our kickoff guy who kicks our PATs and field goals.”
Whether on offense, defense or special teams, every drive usually includes Swierbut.
“I have played with him since second grade and ever since then he has been a really great athlete,” Newtown quarterback
Dylan Magazu said. “He will catch the ball, makes a lot of tackles, and you see what he can do with his returns. He is a great player and a great asset for us.”
Swierbut has scored touchdowns rushing, receiving, returning punts and kicks this season. He has made 35 of his 40 extra point attempts and has stepped in to kick field goals. He has individually accounted for 75 of his team’s 305 points this year.
In Newtown’s 30-20 win over Joel Barlow (7-1), Swierbut returned a punt for a 67-yard touchdown while kicking a field goal and three extra points. He also returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown while kicking four extra points in his team’s 28-0 win over Daniel Hand.
“I didn’t fully know what my role was going to be coming into the season,” Swierbut said. “I didn’t know if I was going to have to play kicker or be the kick returner. I did know I was going to play
both ways on offense and defense, but I am glad. I want to be on the field as much as I can.”
Clearly, playing time has not been a problem for the senior who was named a captain by his teammates.
“This senior class has been through a lot. Not having a sophomore season really set us back a little bit,” Swierbut said. “But all of these guys work really hard in the weight room and during the offseason. We have a group of guys that really want to win, and I think we can do it this year.”
After primarily being limited to defense last year, Swierbut knew he would become more of an offensive player entering this fall. When it became clear that Newtown did not have a kicker, he took on the additional role.
“We had some seniors who were kickers last year graduate, and honestly he never kicked for us last year so I didn’t even know he could do it,” Pattison
said. “We were trying to figure our kicking situation out and he said he used to kick when he was younger. We started having him do it and the ball just pops off his foot. It also helps to have your kicker who can run down on the kickoff and make plays too.”
“I remember when he was kicking in youth football,” Magazu said. “I told coach that he should kick. We didn’t really have anyone.”
After getting the preliminary rust off after not having kicked since eighth grade, Swierbut has steadily improved. The same can be said for the team, which is riding an eight-game win streak after an opening loss to Greenwich.
“We have a saying, get 1% better every day,” Swierbut said. “As the season has gone on, I think we have improved. That Greenwich loss helped us realize that we need to get to a higher level, and I think we are getting there.”
Since the 34-14 loss,
Newtown (8-1) has outscored opponents 291-63. Newtown has allowed less than 10 points in five of its nine games.
“To be where we are at this point of the season, we are very happy” Pattison said. “After Week 1 we took it one week at a time and now we are sitting at 8-1 going into a Thanksgiving rivalry game between us and Masuk. We remember last year and how it ended, and Masuk was good last year. They are good this year too, so our kids are going to be fired up to play them and get some revenge.”
The Nighthawks will finish the regular season Wednesday at Masuk (7-2), a rematch of last year’s game for the SWC championsnhip, which ended Newtown’s state tournament hopes.
While Newtown is safely sitting toward the top of the Class L rankings this year without the threat of elimination, no one has forgotten last year.
“It is everything, we want revenge,” Swierbut said. “It is a big game, and we have all been thinking about it. We all remember last year, and we are pretty pumped up for this one.”
“It was posted on the board in the offseason in the weight room,” Pattison said. “So, they knew that was one of the goals this year. We set preseason goals talking about competing and winning championships, but beat Masuk was one of those goals. Now is that time.”
Newtown has set high standards for itself, paced by a senior class that remembers the feeling of defeat and will do whatever it takes to not relive it.
“We have a good group of leaders,” Pattison said. “The senior class, they have helped get us to this point and we are going to go as far as those guys take us.”