The Newton County Academy Generals fell one game short of playing for the Class 2A state championship.
After being tied 22-22 at the half, Tallulah reeled off 30 straight points in the second half to take a 52-36 win over the Generals.
NCA ends the season with a 10-2 record.
NCA coach Stevie Nelson said the Generals had a chance in the second half but the game got away from them on a wet field.
“It just kind of got away from us in the second half,” Nelson said. “We had an opportunity in the second half. We partially blocked a punt and got a short field. We weren’t able to score and then they scored and the flood gates kind of opened. They recovered the next onside kick and scored again so we went from possibly being up 30-22 to being down 36-22. I thought that was a big point of the game.”
NCA got on the board first on the second play from scrimmage when Paxton Russell scored on a 62-yard run with 9:16 left in the first quarter. The try for two failed and NCA led 6-0 early.
The Trojans answered right back with a time-consuming drive as they went 70 yards in 10 plays and scored on fourth down on an 11-yard run with 5:24 left in the first quarter. The try for two was good and Tallulah took an 8-6 lead into the half.
The Generals answered the score by Tallulah. After receiving an onside attempt, NCA went 50 yards in six plays and found the end zone on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Trace Evans to Russell with 2:05 left in the first quarter. Hunter Scarbrough ran I the two-point conversion and NCA retook the lead at 14-8.
Tallulah retook the lead early in the second quarter as they scored on a 46-yard touchdown run with 8:45 left in the half. The try for two was good and Tallulah led 16-14.
After the Generals turned the ball over on downs on their next possession, Tallulah extended their lead as they went 62 yards in four plays, scoring on a 34-yard run with 6:45 left in the first half. The try for two failed and Tallulah led 22-14.
NCA answered right back as Scarbrough scored on a 46-yard run after the Generals recovered an onside kick. Scarbrough ran in the try for two and NCA tied the game at 22-22, a score that stayed until halftime.
“It started raining pretty good in the second quarter and I felt like it helped them more than it helped us,” Nelson said. “They are pretty much a run-oriented team and we like to throw it more than they do. I thought we played pretty good in the first half. I like the way we played in the first half and played with a lot of intensity. It just kind of got away from us in the second half.”
Tallulah got the ball to start the second half and the Generals got a stop. Evans fumbled to give the ball right back to Tallulah, but the Trojans were forced to punt on its second possession.
The Generals were unable to take advantage of a short field and turned the ball over on downs. That’s when things turned south for the Generals.
Tallulah then hit a 71-yard touchdown pass and converted the two-point try to take a 30-22 lead with 5:06 left in the third quarter.
The Trojans then recovered the ensuing onside kick and went45 yards in four plays as they scored on a 21-yard run with 1:56 left in the third to take a 38-22 lead.
NCA then turned the ball over on downs and Tallulah again hit the big play, scoring on a 59-yard run on the last play of the third quarter to take a 46-22 lead into the fourth.
The Generals turned the ball over on downs on their first possession of the fourth quarter and Tallulah went 54 yards in nine plays and scored on an 8-yard run on fourth down with 3:20 left in the game to extend the leads to 52-22.
The Generals added one last score when Micah Garrison scored on a 6-yard run with 17 seconds left in the game. Garrison scored on the two-point conversion for the final of 52-30.
“It was a very production season when you look back on it,” Nelson said. “I’m happy for the kids and what they accomplished this year. We competed and that’s what I asked them to do. That’s what we did all season long. It’s hard to win 10 games in a season and our two losses are to a team playing for the state championship. We will miss these seniors but hopefully the young kids learned something and will be ready to go for next year.”
The Generals had 330 yards of total offense while giving up 461 yards to Tallulah.
Trace Evans struggled in the passing game, going 3-of-15 passing for 80 yards with one TD. Scarbrough had 96 yards rushing on 10 carries while Paxton Russell had 59 yards on two carries. Garrison had 52 yards on six carries while Evans had 33 yards on five carries. Garrison also had one catch for 46 yards while Russell had one catch for 21 yards.
On defense, Scarbrough had 12 tackles while Bo Smith had 8.5 tackles. Garrison had 7.5 tackles while Russell and Evans each had six tackles apiece. Marshall Wright had 5.5 tackles while Amos Castillo had five tackles.
