Last year, the Newton Tigers entered the season with a mostly inexperienced team but had an ace in the hole with star quarterback Tyreke Snow.
This season there is no Snow but veteran coach Zach Grady said he really likes this year’s team.
“Honestly, I feel better about it than I did last year,” Grady said. “Last year, we had so many inexperienced people who had to play significant minutes. And then we had a lot of injuries. It was a tough year. But now, we are a year older and have a group of guys who have worked hard this summer and have been around the program. It’s going to be a challenging year with the schedule that we play. But I think our strength is going to be our depth and commitment to doing things the right way. I’m as excited about this group as I have been about any group since I’ve been here. I feel good about what we have coming back and the group of young guys we have coming up.”
On offense, the Tigers must replace one of the top offensive players in 2A from last in Snow, who passed for 1,356 yards and rushed for 1,250 yards. Grady said two players are battling for that quarterback spot in sophomore Damarius Harkless and freshman Malik Milsap.
The Tigers do have some experience at other skill positions. At running back, Cory Taylor returns after rushing for 486 yards last year along with Keshawn Covington.
At wide receiver, De’Traun Brown returns after 24 catches and 337 yards last year. Brown will be joined by La’Robert Wheaton, Daylen Ware and Tavion White. At tight end will be Emmanuel Robinson.
“That group is going to be pretty good,” Grady said. “I think they will be similar to the Isaiah Johnson group. They are all a year more experienced and all had a really good summer. Brown is getting a lot of interest. He can play. He’s not at thick as Isaiah but he is a whole lot faster. I think he’s set to have a breakout year.”
On the offensive line, Grady said the group should be one of the best he’s had since coming to Newton. At left tackle will be Je’Carius Hornsby while Marcus Hardy will be at left guard. At center will be Jaden Turner while Chrishun Leverrette will be at right guard and Jabius Jones will be at right tackle.
“If they can stay healthy, that will be the best offensive line that we have had since I have been here,” Grady said. “We are going to miss Tyreke but this is going to be our first opportunity to do just basic stuff. A lot of stuff we did with Snow, you can’t do with other guys. Our guys just have to execute basic high school plays. We just have to move the chains and execute our assignments consistently. We just have to be consistent.”
On defense, the Tigers will base out of an odd-man front. Up front will be Lonnie Jones at nose guard while Jordon Clayton and Leverrette will be at defensive tackles. At outside linebacker, Corey Taylor and Tony Jordan both return from last year. At inside linebacker will be Emmanuel Robinson and Diashun Moncrief.
At safety will be Daylen Ware and La’Robert Wheaton while De’Traun Brown and Tavion White will be at cornerback.
“We will be a whole lot longer in the secondary and a whole lot more experienced,” Grady said. “It was rough early on last year with this group. But they are a year older and longer. They can close ground fast and can cover and catch. You will have to fit it into a pretty tight window. Overall, we are a lot bigger than we were last year and we will be fast. And we are rotating a lot of players over there. We have a lot of depth; we just have to see how they look in pads. But this is a big group up front and we have a lot of experience back. I’m really excited about this group.”
Harkless will handle the punting duties while Brown will handle kickoffs. Marcus Hardy will do the placekicking while Brown will be the long snapper and Turner will do the short snapping.
The Tigers will have their hands full when it comes to division play as they will compete with Lake, Bay Springs, Clarkdale and Scott Central.
“This is a really good district and it will be hard to find a better group of players and coaches,” Grady said. “Our district is as gritty as any in the state. There will be some hard-fought games. It’s tough but it’s the hand we were dealt. But if we want to get to where we want to be, we have to beat those teams. It seems like we get everyone’s best game. They know they have to play hard against us and put their best game together against us. That says a lot about where we have come. We aren’t a pushover game and we aren’t the same old Newton.”
| Newton High School Roster |
| No. |
Name |
Yr. |
| 1 |
Corey Taylor |
Sr. |
| 2 |
Daylen Ware |
Sr. |
| 3 |
Keshawn Covington |
Sr. |
| 4 |
Pierre Wesley |
Sr. |
| 5 |
Damarius Harkless |
Sr. |
| 7 |
La’Robert Wheaton |
Sr. |
| 8 |
Jordan Clayton |
Sr. |
| 9 |
Keilanzae Nichols |
So. |
| 10 |
Tony Jordan |
Sr. |
| 11 |
Cedric Harriss |
Jr. |
| 12 |
De’Traun Brown |
Jr. |
| 15 |
Tavion White |
Sr. |
| 17 |
Demetrius Johnson |
Sr. |
| 19 |
Malik Milsap |
Fr. |
| 21 |
Emmanuel Robinson |
Sr. |
| 22 |
Haithum Ali |
So. |
| 24 |
Jamarcus Holder |
So. |
| 27 |
Jayden Talley |
Jr. |
| 28 |
Bryson Thomas |
Fr. |
| 32 |
Jamarion Brown |
So. |
| 34 |
Odell Williams |
So. |
| 35 |
Diashun Moncrief |
So. |
| 41 |
Jermiah Tillman |
Fr. |
| 42 |
Victor Rush |
So. |
| 50 |
Ja’Marcus Griffin |
Jr. |
| 51 |
Daryl Jones |
Jr. |
| 53 |
Ayden Jones |
So. |
| 54 |
Kaiden Ricks |
So. |
| 55 |
Jabius Jones |
Sr. |
| 57 |
Je’Carius Hornsby |
Jr. |
| 58 |
K’Marion Chapman |
So. |
| 60 |
Jaden Turner |
So. |
| 65 |
Marcus Hardy |
Jr. |
| 66 |
Christen Leverrette |
So. |
| 73 |
Lonnie Jones |
Jr. |
| 74 |
Jamari McDonald |
Jr. |
| 75 |
Caleb Smith |
Sr. |
| 79 |
Jeremiah Johnson |
So. |
| 80 |
Jamarcus Williams |
Fr. |
| 81 |
Xavier Snow |
Fr. |
| 88 |
Xavier Evans |
Fr. |
Quick Facts
Mascot: Tigers
Head coach: Zackare Grady, 6th season
Career Record: 65-103, 25-65, 16 seasons
Career Playoff Record: 3-4
Assistant coaches:
Maurice Milsap (offensive coordinator),
Dale Perine (defensive coordinator),
Cedric Snow (strength and conditioning)
Last year: 5-6, clinched 2A playoff berth
Region: 5-2A (Lake, Bay Springs,
Scott Central, Clarkdale)
Overall School Record: 439-483-24
School District/Region Record: 101-105
School Playoff Record: 9-23
Players to Watch
No. 1 Corey Taylor, Sr., RB/LB
No. 21 Emmanuel Robinson, Sr., TE/LB
No. 12 De’Traun Brown, Jr., WR/CB
No. 7 La’Robert Wheaton, Sr., WR/S
| Projected Depth Chart |
| Quarterbacks |
Defensive Line |
| Damarius Harkless |
Lonnie Jones |
| Malik Milsap |
Jordon Clayton |
| |
Chrishun Leverrette |
| Running Backs |
|
| Corey Taylor |
Outside Linebackers |
| Keshawn Covington |
Corey Taylor |
| |
Tony Jordan |
| Tight Ends |
|
| Emmanuel Robinson |
Inside Linebackers |
| |
Emmanuel Robinson |
| Wide Receivers |
Diashun Moncrief |
| De’Traun Brown |
|
| La’Robert Wheaton |
Safeties |
| Daylen Ware |
Daylen Ware |
| Tavion White |
La’Robert Wheaton |
| |
|
| Offensive Line |
Cornerbacks |
| Je’Carius Hornsby (LT) |
De’Traun Brown |
| Marcus Hardy (LG) |
Tavion White |
| Jaden Turner (C) |
|
| Chrishun Leverrette (RG) |
Punter |
| Jabius Jones (RT) |
Damarius Harkless |
| |
|
| Place Kicker |
Kickoffs |
| Marcus Hardy |
De’Truan Brown |
| |
|
| Holder |
|
| De’Traun Brown |
|
Three Things to Know
1. The Tigers play in one of the toughest divisions in the state with a pair of defending state champions Bay Springs and Scott Central. A season-ending date with Clarkdale will have playoff implications.
2. The Tigers must replace Tyreke Snow, who accounted for more than 2,500 yards of total offense. Youngsters Damarius Harkless and Malik Milsap are competing for that spot.
3. After Snow, the Tigers return a majority of the skill players and linemen from last year’s squad. Coach Zach Grady said the wide receiver group could be one of the most talented that he has coached at Newton.
