Newton County coach Bobby Bass didn’t have much to say after the Cougars’ 20-6 loss to Sumrall on homecoming night.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Bass said. “It was hard to watch. We didn’t do a very good job blocking. We didn’t do a very good job tackling. That’s on me. I’ve got to be a better coach.”
The Sumrall game was the first game without starting quarterback Damon Mapp, who was injured against Union. That and other injuries were setbacks that didn’t help the Cougars chances against the Bobcats, but Bass didn’t allow himself to use that as an excuse.
“They’re on their fourth quarterback, and we’re only on our second quarterback,” Bass said. “I’m not going to make excuses for that. We knew that going in.”
The Cougars were held to just 54 yards of offense the entire night. Most of that came at the end of the game on Newton County’s only touchdown of the night.
With 3:27 to go in the game, Donovan McCoy found Carlonte Walker for a 35-yard touchdown. The extra point was blocked, but the Cougars had pulled within one possession, trailing just 13-6.
On the ensuing kickoff, an unsportsmanlike penalty was charged to the Cougar because Walker dove into the end zone despite a defender trying to make a tackle near the 5-yard line. That pushed the kickoff back to the 25.
From there, Lee Hill tried a short pooch kick along the Cougar sideline for the onside kick attempt. However, the Cougars were charged with kick catching interference because they made contact with the Bobcat return man while making the catch.
That allowed Sumrall to put the game away on Hayden Barrett’s 6-yard touchdown with 59 seconds left to play.
Time ran out on the Cougars on the ensuing drive, as they were trying to score again.
Neither team could find consistent success the entire night. However, Sumrall make two key third-down plays that led to their first two touchdowns.
On third-and-12, Tyler Daniels broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run on the quarterback keeper. Brycen Smith added the extra point to put Sumrall up 7-0 with 1:06 left in the first quarter.
Then on third-and-11, Daniels found Gabriel Cocroft on a 20-yard gain to set up Carson Duck’s 10-yard touchdown. That gave the Bobcats a 13-0 lead with 7:11 left in the third quarter.
Will Hillman recovered a fumble with 3:43 to go in the third quarter, but the Cougars couldn’t gain a yard after the change of possession. Hill’s 46-yard field goal was short.
Cameron McDonald recovered a fumble that allowed Walker to score his touchdown. However, the drive, which started at the Cougar 38, was aided by two pass interference penalties.
