It’s a new season and a new attitude for the Newton County Cougar football team.
After going 2-8 last season, head coach Bobby Bass said he has made several changes this season, all the way from practice to his own attitude.
“I really like our team this year,” Bass said. “And some of it is I have a new attitude. I have always been an old-school kind of coach but have tried to come from a more positive aspect of everything. Instead of trying to find something wrong, I’m trying to focus on the positive things and correct the negative and just move on. I feel like I wasted a lot of time being hard-nosed but I feel like the kids have responded
One of the biggest changes for the Cougars comes on the coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Rob Roberts left and took the head job at Clarkdale and Bass promoted Lucas Poole to play caller.
“I think we are probably ahead of of schedule on offense,” Bass said. “It’s not a whole new offense, but doing a little bit different here and there and it’s a new play caller. But the kids have embraced Coach (Lucas) Poole and what he is doing and believe in him. It’s not like we brought in a new person from the outside.”
On offense, the Cougars return Tali King at quarterback after he got limited experience last year, passing for 439 yards on 28-of-46 passing. He will be backed up by Cam Bell, who passed for 724 yards and seven TDs in fill-in duty last year.
In the backfield, leading rusher Juan Brown returns after rushing fro 993 yards on 191 carries. Also expected to get carries are Miles Mangum, Kaleb Webster, Emmanuel Thaggard and Logan Evans.
On the outside, senior Byron Pruitt returns after leading the Cougars with 438 yards receiving on 23 catches. He will be joined by Kelin Johnson, Cam Bell, Tucker Keveryn and Cohen Liggett. At H-back/tight end will be Logan Evans, Charlie Hollingsworth and Tate Thompson.
On the offensive line, senior Grant Keith returns at right tackles while Micah May will be at right guard. Garrett Sessions will be at center while Jordan Chaney and Zach Garvin will be at left tackles. Jase Donald will backup at the tackles and center while Eli Slay will backup at guard.
“Most of the offensive line was sophomores last year,” Bass said. “Now they are juniors and are bigger and stronger. They got a lot of experience last year. For us to be successful, it starts up front and it’s going to be on them to grow as a unit and to get better every game. I think Tali has done a good job at quarterback and has thrown some good balls. We have a lot of people coming back on offense who have played. It’s really hard to beat experience and that’s a big deal.”
On defense, Caleb Davis and Peyton will be at defensive end while Zack Garvin, Grant Keith, Garrett Sessions and Micah May will all rotate at defensive tackle.
At linebacker, Logan Evans (56 tackles) will return and be joined by Ben Norman, Jacob Gilbert, Harrison Chaney, Juan Brown and Miles Mangum.
In the secondary, Cam Bell and Kaleb Webster return at cornerback while Byron Pruitt (4 INTs) will be the strong safety and Tucker Keveryn (55 tackles, 3 INTs) will be the free safety. Emmanuel Thaggard and Charlie Hollingsworth will also get reps in the secondary.
“I really feel good about our defense,” Bass said. “We have done a lot of film work and have gotten a lot better. I usually measure how good a defense is by how fast the initial hole closes. There may be some some holes but it closes really fast with this defense. We aren’t very big but they play hard and with a lot of effort. They are real scrappy and run to the football. They have been really positive and take pride in their position.”
On special teams, Logan Evans will be the punt and “has hit some big ones in practice.” At deep snapper will be Cohen Liggett while Miles Mangum will handle kickoffs and Austin Marcum will handle field goals.
The Cougars will compete in division 5-4A with Leake Central, Choctaw Central, West Lauderdale and Northeast Lauderdale.
“We have a competitive district,” Bass said. “It’s hard to say where we stack up. We will have to see. I think the district is wide open. I’m just happy to be back in the South.”
The Cougars will open the regular season at home as they host Morton.
2025 Newton County High School Schedule
Aug. 29 Morton
Sept. 5 at Raleigh
Sept. 12 Northeast Jones
Sept. 19 Scott Central
Sept. 26 at Mize
Oct. 3 at NE Lauderdale
Oct. 10 at West Lauderdale
Oct. 17 Choctaw Central
Oct. 24 Leake Central
Oct. 30 at SE Lauderdale
Newton County High School Roster
0 Juan Brown RB/LB Sr.
1 Logan Evans LB/RB Sr.
2 Byron Pruitt DB/WR Sr.
3 Cam Bell DB/WR Sr.
4 Kaleb Webster DB/WR Sr.
5 Kaleb Davis DE Sr.
6 Peyton Hardy LB/DB Sr.
7 Tali King WB Jr.
8 Kelin Johnson WR Sr.
9 Davion Roberts DE Sr.
10 Harrison Chaney LB Jr.
11 Seth Cox LB/H Fr.
12 Tucker Keveryn WR/DB Sr.
13 Jacob Gilbert H/LB Jr.
14 Janoah Skinner DB/WR So.
15 Austin Marcum K Sr.
16 Clark Gentry QB/DEB Fr.
17 Anders Humphreys K So.
18 Case Keith TE Fr.
19 Ayden Poole RB/DB Fr.
20 Cohen Liggett DB/WR Jr.
21 Miles Mangum DB/RB Jr.
22 Emmanuel Thaggard DE/TE Jr.
23 Tez Kossey DE/TE Fr.
29 Tate Thompson TE Sr.
31 Braden Liles LB So.
34 Ben Norman DB Jr.
35 Charlie Hollingsworth DB Jr.
44 Eli Slay TE So.
45 Zyren Shannon DE Jr.
47 Zaden Anderson DE Jr.
50 Donald Thomas DT So.
51 Shammond Jones OL Sr.
52 Zack Garvin DL/DT Jr.
53 Landyn Pierce OL Fr.
54 Lyndon Cooley OL Jr.
55 Garrett Sessions OL Jr.
56 Jase Donald OL/DL So.
57 Grant Keith OL/DL Sr.
58 Isaac Rock OL/DL Jr.
59 Hunter Wallace OL Jr.
60 Kenny Miller OL/DL Fr.
61 Draylen McIntire OL/DL Fr.
62 Mason Platt OL/DL Fr.
64 Jordan Chaney OL Jr.
65 Micah May OL Jr.
66 Scott Bassett OL/DL Fr.
67 Patrick Bounds DL Jr.
Head coach: Bobby Bass
Last year: 2-8 (lost in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs to Amory)
Assistant coaches: Hunter James, Lucas Poole, Wes Cox, Dylan Grayson, Kyle Adkins and Justin Chaney
Players to Watch: Cam Bell, Sr., DB/WR, Juan Brown, Sr., RB/LB, Byron Pruitt, WR/DB, Sr., Grant Keith, Sr., OL/DL
District: 5-4A (Northeast Lauderdale, West Lauderdale, Choctaw Central and Leake Central)
Three Things to Watch
The Cougars have a ton of skill players like Byron Pruitt, Cam Bell and Juan Brown.If junior quarterback Tali King can produce, the Cougars can be dangerous on offense.
With Rob Roberts taking the head coaching job at Clarkdale, Lucas Poole was promoted to offensive coordinator. Bass said a lot of things stayed the same but there will be some fresh wrinkles.
While still challenging, County’s schedule is a little more forgiving than in year’s past. Will that translate to more wins?
