After a loss to Humphreys Academy, the Newton County Academy Generals have gotten their act together.
The Generals scored 41 unanswered points and cruised to a 41-12 win over Christian Collegiate on Friday night in Gulfport.
NCA improves to 8-2 on the season and will host Park Place on Friday night for Senior night.
NCA coach Stevie Nelson said after giving up an opening score, his offensive and defensive lines dominated the action.
“They got about 50 yards on their first drive and about 40 on their last drive and in between, they might have had 25 yards,” Nelson said. “I was proud of our defense. They played really well after we gauged their speed. I thought we totally dominated after that first drive. We had it six times and scored six times. The bottom line is we have to keep it going as we get ready for the playoffs. We are playing great team football right now. We are playing good offense and tough defense. It was just a good team-oriented win. It’s been that way all yer long and I hope it continues.”
The Bulldogs got the ball to start the game and went 70 yards in four plays, scoring on 45-yard run. The try for two failed and the CCA led 6-0.
The Generals responded with a quick five-play, 67-yard drive as Copper Savell scored on a 1-yard run. Cohen Rule kicked the PAT and the Generals led 7-6.
NCA got the ball right back on a Max Ferguson interception. The Generals went 85 yards in 12 plays as Savell scored on a 24-yard touchdown run. Rule kicked the PAT and the Generals led 14-6 early in the second quarter.
CCA then turned the ball over on downs at the NCA 18. The Generals then got a big 49 yards run from Thrash, who finished off the drive with a 1-yard run. Rule made the PAT and Generals led 21-6 at the half.
“I was proud of our defensive line,” Nelson said. “Harrison Wall, Taylor Burt and Amos Castillo really showed up and showed out. I thought the offensive line did a good job of opening holes. After their opening drive, I thought we dominated the rest of the game. It was a great win for a long road trip.”
NCA continued to pull away in the second half as the Generals got the ball and scored on a 27-yard run by Thrash. Rule’s PAT gave NCA a 28-6 lead.
The Generals then went to their bag of tricks as Savell threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Thrash. Rule’s PAT gave the Generals a 35-6 lead going to the fourth.
NCA added a fourth-quarter score to get the clock running as Thrash scored on a 37-yard run to make the score 41-6.
The Bulldogs add a late score in the fourth for the final margin of 41-12.
The Generals had 329 yards of total offense with 289 rushing and 40 passing while limiting Christian Collegiate to 115 yards.
Thrash had another big game with 173 yards rushing on 10 carries with three TDs. Savell had 93 yards rushing on 14 carries and two TDs. On defense, Taylor Burt led the Generals with seven tackles while Harrison Wall had 6.5 tackles. Logan Usry had six tackles while Amos Castillo had 5.5 tackles. Thrash had four tackles while Savell had three stops. Max Ferguson had 2.5 tackles and an interception while Noah Agent and Josh Fletcher each had two tackles.
