Newton football coach Zach Grady made a decision before the season started to move some of his better players to defense, and that has played dividends for the Tigers.
The Tigers used a stingy defense and made a goal-line stand in the last minutes of the game to take a hard-fought 7-6 win over Perry Central on Friday night.
After a winless season last year, it’s been a turn-around season for the Tigers (6-3), who will host Enterprise-Clarke on Friday night in the second round of the 2A playoffs.
“To be able to get a win in the playoffs for the first time in years is a big deal for our kids,” Grady said. “I’m super proud of them. Nobody thought we were going to be here. But here we are hosting a home playoff game in November. Our kids are really excited, and we are playing at home this week. The most optimistic part is we know we can play better and that’s just fuel for us.”
It was a defensive contest that featured 10 punts, something that Grady has been emphasizing this season.
“We talked about it at the beginning of the year of trying to change the culture here,” Grady said. “We felt like to play later in the year, we had to get better on defense and not turn the ball over on offense and that’s what we did on Friday night... They made the plays when they had to make them.”
Perry Central scored its lone points in the first half as the Bulldogs went 62 yards in nine plays, scoring on a 2-yard run with 11:13 left in the second quarter. The try for two failed and Perry Central led 6-0, a score that lasted until halftime.
“We just wanted to protect the football and we didn’t have any turnovers,” Grady said. “The main thing is, you have to protect the football in the playoffs.”
Newton got a big play midway through the fourth quarter when quarterback Tyreke Snow hit Isaiah Johnson on a short pass. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound junior broke a tackle and then raced 58 yards to get deep in Perry Central territory. The two hooked up again after Snow scrambled after a bad snap but threw a 10-yard pass to Johnson, who fell to his knees in the end zone with 8:02 left.
“Johnson is just getting better and better every week,” Grady said. “He’s a big kid with a big frame and big hands that the colleges are looking for. He is finally growing into his frame.”
The biggest play of the game came when Lawrence Morris booted the PAT to give Newton a 7-6 lead.
“During pregame, I don’t think he made a single kick,” Grady said of Morris. “We haven’t been very good at it but after last year against Madison St. Joe, I decided I was going to trust my kicker. He came through when we needed it. He’s just been a great all-around utility guy for us all year. He’s had to play quarterback, running back and handle our kicking and punting. We have been able to play field position because he has punted so well. He’s a big part of what we are doing.”
Perry Central drove inside the Newton 5. But the Tiger defense held strong and held the Bulldogs out of the end zone on fourth down when Kobe Thompson came up with a big sack to secure the win.
