Newton County football coach Bobby Bass knew Friday night’s matchup with rival West Lauderdale was going to be a tough one.
And six turnovers didn’t make that any better for the Cougars as the Knights rolled to a 42-10 win on a soggy field in Collinsville.
Bass said the Cougars struggled with protecting the ball and made too many mental mistakes in the season opener.
“We just didn’t play very well,” Bass said. “We turned it over six or seven times. We started out strong with an interception but then every time we got something good, it was a mistake all night. We turned the ball over three times in the red zone and you can’t do that and win against good teams.”
Bass said the team’s youth showed in the season opener.
“We had a lot of young guys, and it looked like a deer in headlights at times,” Bass said. “We had trouble getting lined up on defense which blows my mind. I don’t know what happened. I thought we were ready to play and then they made some plays and we kind of shut it down. I’ve been scratching my head all weekend trying to figure it out.”
West Lauderdale got the ball to start the game but threw an interception on the third play of the game.
The Cougars then went seven plays and got a 41-yard field goal from Cade Mangum to go up 3-0.
That lead didn’t last long as West put together a nine-play, 66-yard drive and scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 5:34 left in the first quarter. The PAT was good, and West led 7-3.
After swapping punts, Hale was sacked and lost a fumble. The Knights put together another long drive, going 67 yards in 11 plays and scored on a 3-yard run. The PAT was good, and West led 14-3.
The Cougars gave the ball right back after two plays on another fumble. The Knights then went 45 yards in eight plays and scored on a 6-yard run. The PAT gave West a 21-3 lead that lasted until halftime.
“I thought we moved the ball well at time on them, we just have to finish those drives,” Bass said. “We have to be more consistent and being consistently competitive and driven is something we are struggling with. We don’t seem to have that drive that other teams have that I have coached here. A lot of these guys haven’t played, and they just don’t know how hard you have to play. They haven’t been in that environment before.”
County got the ball to start the second half, but Mangum missed a 36-yard field goal.
West then put the game away with an 80-yard touchdown pass to go up 28-3.
After a Newton County punt, the Knights went 61 yards in six plays and scored on a 36-yard bootleg pass to take a 35-3 lead.
County’s only touchdown came early in the fourth period when Grey Hale hit Tylan McNichols on a quick pass that he turned into a 27-yard touchdown. Mangum hit the PAT to cut the lead to 35-10.
West added a fourth quarter score for the final margin.
County had 283 yards of total offense with 215 yards rushing. Hale led the rushing attack with 80 yards on six carries and was 6-of-12 passing for 68 yards. L.T. Phillips had 76 yards on 16 carries while Kimari Brown had 28 yards on six carries. Tylan McNichols had 16 yards on three carries.
“We struggled getting off blocks and that goes back to inexperience,” Bass said. “And we aren’t disciplined enough to read our keys every play and then forget what that key is the next play. It’s just undisciplined football and that drives me insane. We were calling our formations at practice and didn’t do it one single time in the game. They run to the tight end 75 percent of the time and that went in one ear and out the other.”
