Newton County coach Bobby Bass needed someone to make a play.
His Cougars were down 10-7 at halftime and were backed up into their own red zone to start the third quarter.
Colin Crowder provided the answer the Cougars needed. On the 10th play of the Southeastern Lauderdale drive to start the second half, he ripped the ball away from the Tigers’ quarterback and gave Newton County life.
From that point, Newton County scored 24-straight points to pull away from the visiting Tigers and win 31-10 to improve to 3-1 on the season. Southeastern Lauderdale fell to 0-4.
Crowder’s takeaway led to a 10-play, 75-yard drive by the Cougars. Carlois Walker capped off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown. Lee Hill added the point after touchdown, giving Newton County the lead for good at 14-10.
After Newton County forced a three-and-out following a bad kickoff return that made the Tigers start at their own 10-yard line, Crowder stepped up again by breaking tackles and dragging tacklers with him on a determined 43-yard punt return for the score.
Hill added a 32-yard field goal following a Tiger turnover on downs.
Walker capped off the scoring with a 42-yard sprint to make it 31-10.
Gray Hale caught an interception to preserve the second-half shutout.
Newton County opened the game fast, as Carlonte Walker took the handoff on the first play from scrimmage and raced 75 yards for the touchdown.
Southeast Lauderdale answered with a 49-yard touchdown run moments later.
The Tigers appeared to have another long touchdown run on a fake punt in the first quarter. However, it was negated by a penalty.
The Tigers did, however, take the lead on a 36-yard field in the second quarter.
Another touchdown was wiped out by a holding penalty late right before the half, and the half ended with the Cougars trailing by 3, despite nearly being doubled in yardage and only running 15 offensive plays.
However, the message was simple for Bass. He needed someone to step up and make a play. Crowder provided that play that energized the Cougars to flip the game.
