After winning just one game in his first two seasons, Newton football coach Zach Grady was looking for the Tigers to have a turnaround season.
The Tigers have done just that, as they finished out the regular season with a 24-22 win over East Marion on Friday night at E.L. Morgan Field.
The Tigers finish the regular season with a 5-3 record, and will face either Collins or Perry Central on the road on Friday night after finishing as the No. 4 team in Division 6-2A.
While Friday night wasn’t a textbook win, it was an important one for the Newton program.
“I think it’s been a tremendous turnaround,” Grady said. “They will go down as the group of seniors that turned this thing around. It’s up to them to keep it going. They have had a tremendous season after what they have been through the last two years.”
The Tigers got the ball to start the game and went 58 yards in six plays as Tyreke Snow scored on an 11-yard run with 9:51 left in the first half. The PAT failed and Newton led 6-0.
“It was good to get Tyreke back,” Grady said. “He had a couple of big plays and made some good things happen. That was his first start at quarterback since the second game of the season. We are finally starting to get some people back healthy. Hopefully we can take this momentum.”
East Marion got its first score on the defensive side of the ball as the Eagles scooped up a Newton fumble and went 39 yards for a touchdown. The try for two was good and East Marion led 8-6.
But the Tigers answered right back with a 10-play drive that was helped by a roughing the punter call. Snow capped off the drive as he hit Isaiah Johnson on a 36-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds left in the first. The try for two was good as Snow hit Lawrence Morris to give Newton a 14-8 lead.
Newton extended its lead midway through the second quarter. The Tigers put together an eight-play drive but turned it over on downs at the East Marion 5. Two plays later, East Marion snapped it over the quarterback’s head for a safety as Newton led 16-8.
But disaster struck again for the Tigers. After getting the free kick at the East Marion 35 and hitting a nine 10-yard gainer, Newton lost the fumble and the Eagles recovered and raced 75 yards for a touchdown. The try for two failed and Newton held a 16-14 lead.
On the ensuing possession, Snow hit another big play for the Tigers as he hit Morris on a 71-yard touchdown pass. After a penalty, Snow hit Tyshun Evans on a long two-point conversion as Newton led 24-14 at the half.
East Marion’s last score came on a blocked punt for the final of 24-22.
“I couldn’t ask more out of the defense,” Grady said. “They pitched a shutout and didn’t allow a score. All three of their touchdowns came on turnovers. We’ve got to clean those things up, but we saw a lot of bright spots. If we can get everybody back healthy, I feel good about our football team. The defense is getting better at the right time. Getting Tyshun Evans back over there was big. That really helped the defense against the run.”
Snow finished the night with 183 yards passing on 16-of-27 attempts and also ran for 108 yards on 16 carries. Morning had six catches for 76 yards and eight carries for 17 yards. Rayvion Nettles had two catches for 38 yards while Isaiah Johnson had three catches for 56 yards.
