Newton County throttles Richland in district
Coming into last week’s game with Richland, Newton County coach Bobby Bass thought his team would face its biggest challenge of the season.
It looked that way for the first quarter, but from that point on, Newton County took charge, taking advantage of six turnovers and another miscue on special teams as the Cougars defeated the Rangers 61-17.
While he was happy with the win, Bass said there’s still room for improvement.
“We played good in spots,” Bass said. “Defensively, we gave up 17 points. They’re a good team. I give credit to Coach Palmer and their kids. He had them ready to play. I got to do a better job getting our team ready to play. I’m in charge of the defense, and I’ve got to get them to play a little better than that.
“I thought our offense played really well. Our coaches did a really good job preparing our kids. They had a good game plan.”
Richland took the opening kickoff and drove down the field on all running plays. Seth Shoto ended the drive with a 3-yard touchdown. Benji Hernandez made the PAT.
Newton County would turn to its defense to make a play after a great punt by Lee Hill backed up the Rangers on their own goal line. The Rangers fumbled a snap, which was recovered in the end zone by Cameron McDonald. Hill made the PAT to tie the game.
The Rangers went back to work and drove down the field methodically, but the drive stalled in the red zone. Hernandez made a 22-yard field goal to put the Rangers up 10-7 with only one second left in the first quarter.
That second would be all the Cougars would need to take the lead, as Damon Mapp found running back Carlois Walker open for a 66-yard touchdown pass. Hill’s extra point gave the Cougars a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Cougars benefitted from a short punt by the Rangers. Mapp had his second TD of the night, this time on a 22-yard touchdown pass to Tyron Henderson.
After a bad snap was downed by the Rangers at their own 4-yard line, Walker added his first of three rushing touchdowns on a 4-yard run. Hill’s PAT made it 27-10.
After a Colin Crowder interception, Mapp called his own number on a 13-yard touchdown run, making the halftime score 33-10.
The Rangers took advantage of a Cougar fumble with Logan Evans’ 12-yard pass for a touchdown to Micah Soto. Hernandez’s extra point made it 33-17 early in the third quarter.
That’s as close as it would get, as Carlonte Walker returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 40-17.
Tylan McNichols intercepted the ball inside the 1-yard line to end a Richland scoring threat. On the next play Carlois Walker exploded for a 99-yard touchdown, giving the Cougars a 47-17 lead.
Crowder’s second interception set up Carlois Walker’s final touch of the night on a 4-yard touchdown run, giving the Cougars a commanding 54-17 lead.
The final points of the night came off a Koye Hardaway interception. Freshman Kamari Brown added the final score.
The Tigers rushed for 261 yards and threw for 147 yards and two touchdowns on just five passes. Carlois Walker led the way with 232 total yards with 166 yards on 16 carries and one reception for 66 yards.
Henderson had two catches for 47 yards. Mapp finished with all the passing yards, completing four of five passes.
