It wasn’t a fun-filled homecoming for Newton County Academy this past week.
The Generals remained winless as they fell 19-6 to Amite School on Friday night.
First-year coach Arnie Oakes felt like the Generals let one slip away.
“I felt like it was a game we should have won,” Oakes said. “We just don’t have any depth and teams are just able to wear us down. And, our lack of experience shows in some places. I thought the boys played hard. The offensive and defensive lines played better and can still get better.”
Amite got the ball to open the game and put together a nine-play drive, before eventually fumbling at the NCA 10.
After a first down, the Generals were forced to punt out of their end zone and a 20-yard return gave Amite the ball at the NCA 13. Three plays later, Amite punched it in on a 10-yard run to go up 7-0 with 2:24 left in the first quarter.
The Generals gave Amite good field position again when they lost a fumble at their own 28. Amite then scored two plays later on a 3-yard run with 30 seconds left in the first quarter. The PAT failed and Amite led 13-0.
The Generals finally got out of the shadow of their own goal post and put together an eight-play, 44-yard drive as Zandar Meeks scored on a 1-yard quarterback. The try for two failed and Amite led 13-6 with 9:14 left in the second quarter.
Amite added one more score, while the Generals were unable to score on multiple attempts in the red zone.
“We were inside the 10 four times and weren’t able to score on any of those,” Oakes said. “It was either a bad snap or a penalty that cost us from getting into the end zone. We would move the ball well at times but just can’t overcome mistakes.”
Colby Hollingsworth led the Generals with 92 yards rushing o 16 carries, while Jax Porter had 44 yards rushing on 11 carries and two receptions for 21 yards.
On defense, Hollingsworth led the team with 15 tackles while Micah Garrison had 11 stops. Porter and Braxton Therrell each had 10 tackles apiece while Lee Hollingsworth had nine stops. Trey Mathis had seven tackles while Zandar Meeds had six tackles and Lawson Reeves added four stops.
