The Tigers will host the Tornadoes on Thursday night with playoff position on the line.
Philly stands at 4-5 on the season but are 3-0 in division play. The Tornadoes started the season with five straight losses to Noxubee County (51-15), Bay Springs (46-6), Leake Central (43-34) and West Lauderdale (58-21). Since then, they have wins over Size (27-1), Nanih Waiya (54-24), Lake (forfeit) and Kemper County (35-7).
“There is a chance we could win the district and we could be the third-place team,” Newton coach Zach Grady said. “It’s going to come down to how many points we win by. We have to prepare and try to get the win and worry about the points at the end. Philly is playing a lot better down the stretch here. They have a lot of speed at those wing backs. They have some speed and always have athletes. It’s a typical Philadelphia team. I gave up believing the myth that Philadelphia is going to be down.”
Last year, Newton beat Philadelphia 36-28.
