When it comes to scheduling, Newton County coach Bobby Bass has one goal and that’s to get his team ready for district play and the playoffs.
And with the schedule he has put together, Bass has accomplished that.
The Cougars will have a preseason test as they take on Lake in a preseason jamboree on. Aug. 23.
“They are good coaches and we have a good relationship with them,” Bass said. “I expect them to be pretty good this year so I expect it to be a good scrimmage.”
County will then open the season on Aug. 30 as they travel to Winona to take on the defending 3A state champions. The Tigers beat the Cougars 47-14 and went undefeated.
“They are going to have athletes and they are going to be well coached,” Bass said. “It’s a good opening contest for us. They still have the good linebacker who is like 6-4, 6-5 and can run and he is better than the guy who signed with State last year. He is one of the top linebacker recruits in the nation. They won the state championship last year and will be a challenge.”
Bass said he knows the Tigers will be a challenge after coming off their championship season.
“I consider it a preseason warmup to a playoff game, even though its the first game of the season,” Bass said. “We are traveling a good ways and young guys have to understand everything you have to do before you travel. Everything we do before district play, we are trying to prepare for district and after district. We are trying to put those kids in hostile environments against teams that are good so when we get there and it matters, we are ready for it.”
The Cougars then host Raleigh on Sept. 6.
“They lost some guys but have a lot coming back. It’s always good to play a wing-T team,” Bass said. “They run a traditional wing-T but they will also try to formation you so it’s good to get that. You have to make adjustments and get lined up or you are going to be outflanked. They are really good coaches. We were down there last year and fortunate enough to beat them. If we don’t play Winona week one last year, we don’t beat Raleigh.”
County will then make the road trip to Poplarville on Sept. 13
“It was a slugfest and played them pretty well defensively,” Bass said. “I thought we played them as well as anybody did on defense last year. They made some adjustments after they played us last year. They are a playoff-caliber team every year. They are really well coached and well disciplined. We kind of figured some things out on them last year. To me, they were a lot better on defense than I gave them credit for last year.”
The Cougars will then host Union in a rematch of last year’s 49-45 shootout.
“We have them at home this year,” Bass said. “I really don’t know what to expect from them. They lost a bunch of kids. Those were three tough, physical games to start the season with and we were banged up a little bit. A play here and a play there and we could have won that game.”
County will then host Kosciusko, a team that hammered them 47-7 last year.
“We were even more beat up when we played them last year,” Bass said. “We struggled to put an offense out there and struggled to put a defense out there. It was just one of those things and it reflected it on the scoreboard. Hopefully we are a little healthier this year. But we have worked hard to build some depth. We are deeper at most positions this year. Credit to our kids, we play physical football and when you play physical football, you are going to get banged up. They are well coached and one of those games that we could see them again. I scheduled that game not being in the north. It’s a good game, a playoff type of game.”
The Cougars will then begin division play at Northeast Lauderdale on Oct. 4
“Their coach was the offensive coordinator at Meridian last year,” Bass said. “The turnover rate there is pretty high but he’s a good football coach. He has been around a lot of good football. He knows how it is supposed to be done but I don’t know how much help he is going to have. I don’t know what they will do offensively or defensively.”
County will then host Choctaw Central in a game that Bass said is a classic “trap game.”
“They probably have the biggest high school offensive line in America,” Bass said. “I’ve never seen anything like it and they are steady throwing it. Their skill is good and that shocked me as much as anything. They have a kid that is probably the fastest kid in 4A. I think he won the 100 in 4A last year. It’s crazy. He took the first play of the game to the house last year. We were misaligned and he took it to the house. They have tall receivers that can go get it. They didn’t win a game and that blows my mind. It’s a dangerous game. We tried to find every possible way to lose that game last year. We turned it over, busted coverages, busted alignments, everything you can imagine. It was a win but it felt like a loss.”
The Cougars will travel to Carthage to play at Leake Central, a team they beat 56-27 last year.
“You can’t ever tell what you are going to get,” Bass said. “We prepared for three different quarterbacks last year. And you don’t know what you are going to get. They might be full spread one week and wing-T the next. It makes them hard to prepare for. But they always have athletes and can run. They made two great catches on us last year.”
To end the season, the Cougars will host rival West Lauderdale on Thursday night, Aug. 31.
“The quarterback is back and he is a kid that is an athlete that could probably play somewhere if he wanted to,” Bass said. “They always have some athletes and some . They will be well coached and will run the stuff they have been running. It was a really physical game last year and it’s hard to win there.”
Newton County Cougars 2024 Football Schedule
Aug. 30 at Winona
Sept. 6 Raleigh
Sept. 13 at Poplarville
Sept. 20 Union
Sept. 27 Kosciusko
Oct 4 at NE Lauderdale
Oct 11 Choctaw Central
Oct. 25 at Leake Central
Oct. 31 West Lauderdale
