The Newton Tigers took their final preparations for the 2022 season Saturday in Louisville.
The Tigers took on Shannon on Saturday and dropped a 20-6 decision to the Class 4A Raiders.
After a week of rain and clouds, the Tigers saw nothing but clear skies on Saturday.
“I thought the main thing was the heat,” Grady said. “It was about 95 degrees and it was really hot. I think that was the biggest factor. They are a 4A school and had a lot more depth. They will be a force in 4A north. They are a good football team and their quarterback was a good player. They were a good test for us because Hazlehurst has some guys outside that can play. We kind of got tired in the end. We just aren’t in hitting shape yet but you can only do that by playing.”
After falling behind early, Newton put its only scoring drive together in the first quarter as Tyreke Snow hit Jamarious Reed on a 35-yard touchdown pass.
“I thought we played well in spots and made some mistakes and that’s to be expected,” Grady said. “We saw some flashes of good things and some things we need to work on as well. We made some big plays but they they would be called back for a penalty. But I would rather see them holding than coming through and hitting the quarterback. But I liked the effort up front. We just need to clean up some protections and we will be good.”
This week’s game
The Tigers will go on the road this week as they travel to Copiah-Lincoln Community College to play Hazlehurst to take on the Indians in a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. The two teams did not play last year when the game was cancelled because of a COVID outbreak.
Grady said the Indians will present a challenge for his team.
“They have a big quarterback who can sling it,” Grady said. “They have a couple of kids on the outside who can play college football. They are not as big up front as the group we just played but they are a playoff-caliber team. We will have to play and e a lot better than last week. What people need to realize is that when you start talking about playoff runs, you can’t play cupcakes. You have to got to play good teams and see where you are at. That’s where we are as a program.”
Hazlehurst went 5-3 last year and lost to Jefferson Davis County 40-14 in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs last year.
