With head coach Zach Grady suspended for the week, interim coach Aiden Agee wanted to make the game plan simple for both sides of the ball this week against Forest.
Agee succeeded in his plan as the Tigers blitzed the Bearcats in a 40-7 blowout win on Friday night.
The Tigers improve to 1-1 on the season and will host Quitman on Friday night.
Agee, who is also the team’s defensive coordinator, said he just wanted to be simple this week.
“We came out and put the game plan together and just wanted to be simple on offense and get the ball out quickly,” Agee said. “I thought we did that and felt like it gave us a better chance to be successful. It was just a total team effort. We were super proud of the kids. They played really hard.”
The Tigers forced a punt on their first possession and Newton needed just four plays to go 59 yards as Tyreke Snow hit Isiah Johnson on a 30-yard touchdown pass. The PAT failed and Newton led 6-0.
The Tigers extended the lead late in the first quarter. After a good punt return, Snow scored on a 7-yard run to give Newton a 12-0 lead.
After swapping fumbles late in the second quarter, the Tigers went on an 11-play, 70-yard drive as Snow hit Johnson on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 2:22 left in the half. Snow hit Johnson on the two-point conversion and Newton led 20-0.
After a quick three-and-out by Forest, Newton went 84 yards in five plays as Snow scored on a 23-yard run with 23 seconds left in the half. The PAT was blocked and Newton led 26-0.
On the ensuing kick, Newton kicked deep and Forest failed to field the kick and Newton recovered at the Bearcat 5. Snow then hit Johnson on a 5-yard pass as the Tigers led 32-0 at the half.
“Once we gave Tyreke some time, he was able to make some plays,” Agee said. “The game play was for him to get the ball out quickly. But I have to give the kids a lot of credit. They got to practice early and stayed late working on routes and timing. And we shortened our routes to get the ball out quick and I thought he executed that really well. And Isaiah did a good job. He’s a big guy and runs great routes. We felt like we had an advantage with him by isolating him away from the trips side. We felt like we had the size advantage with him and he took advantage of that.”
Newton added one more score in the second half after Forest fumbled on their own 5. Snow then hit a 5-yard touchdown pass and then hit Johnson on the two-point conversion for a 40-0 lead.
“I thought we played really well on defense,” Agee said. “We went back to the basics. Against Raymond, we tried to move our front. But we went back to the basics and got after them. We felt like they couldn’t hurt us passing the ball so we manned them up and just played them and put seven in the box. I feel like we have the best secondary in the state and they did a great job. They can lock an offensive down.”
