It will be a busy week in Newton County with all five local teams playing at home this week.
Lake will have its hands full as they host rival Sebastopol and the defending Class 2A Player of the Year. In Decatur, Newton County Academy hosts Humphreys in what could possibly be a matchup for the district championship. Not far down the road, Newton County hosts 3A power Raleigh while Union looks for its first win against Enterprise and their vaunted Wing-T offense. In Newton, the Tigers will host Forest as they look for their first win under coach Jeffrey Crosby.
Here’s a look at this week’s games:
Sebastopol at Lake
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for Lake this week as they host Scott County rival Sebastopol.
The Bobcats are coming off a 63-0 win over McAdams in the opener and feature the Class 2A player of the year in Andrius McDougle, who recently committed to Southern Miss.
Sebastopol has won the last two meetings between the two teams, something that Lake coach Tate Hanna is ready to change.
“First off, they are very well coached,” Hanna said. “Coach (Keith) Brown has done a great job and my brother does the defense for them. The kids buy into what they are trying to do. The quarterback is a game changer who can score on any play. He is a weapon on both sides of the football. We have to be physical and control the clock and we have to stop McDougle. They do a good job of getting you in a bind with formations so we have to be prepared for that. They have beat us the last two years. Our kids have to look at it as it’s time to get that back on our side.”
Last year, Sebastopol won 29-22 as McDougle ran for 291 yards and three TDs on 18 carries.
Humphreys at NCA
The Generals will open district play this week as they host Humphreys in a contest that will likely determine the 2-2A title.
Humphreys is 1-1 on the season with a 40-0 win over Kemper and a 42-28 loss to Desoto last week.
“We had better be ready to play this week because Humphreys can play,” NCA coach Stevie Nelson said. “They have a lot of speed. We have to get better this week and do a better job. They spread you out and use that speed. They have one kid who can really run. They gave Desoto all they wanted and it was a lot closer than the scoreboard showed. We will have our hands full. I hope we can grind it out and keep the clock running.”
Last year, NCA beat Humphreys 67-30.
Enterprise at Union
The Yellowjackets will be at home this week as they host Enterprise.
The Bulldogs beat Lake 27-20 last week. Union coach Jordan Wren knows exactly what to expect on Friday night.
“It’s going to be one of those phone booth kind of nights,” Wren said. “They run that wing-T, double-wing stuff like a well-oiled machine. They don’t have a kid like the quarterback at Choctaw but we still have to be very disciplined and will have to tackle well.”
Last year, Union beat Enterprise 28-7 in a downpour.
Raleigh at Newton County
Newton County will have its regular-season opener this week as they host Raleigh.
The Bulldogs beat Bay Springs 22-14 last week to open the season.
“They are a good football team,” County coach Bobby Bass said. “They are well coached and have some good athletes. They are still running that Wing-T and have an athlete at quarterback now. They do get in the gun and run with him a good bit. And they are really scrappy. We just have to get better and have to have some people step up this week. We have some kids banged up so we will have to see who can play on Friday night.”
Last year, Newton County beat Raleigh 34-22
Forest at Newton
The Tigers will try to get their first win of the season as they host Forest.
The Bearcats beat Philadelphia 27-0 last week to open the season.
“They have a great team and have some athletes,” Newton coach Jeffrey Crosby said. “I think they will be more athletic than Lanier and that could be a problem for us. But I think we will be better at doing our job on defense and getting lined up. I think offensively, we will put up a better plan and will have to do some things differently. It will take a lot this week.”
Last year, Forest went 7-3 and beat Newton 48-6.
