A rash of injuries caught up with the Newton County Cougars last week as they opened division 5-4A play.
The Cougars gave up 32 unanswered points in the first half and dropped a 38-14 decision to Mendenhall on Friday night.
It was another tough loss for the Cougars (3-4, 0-1 in Division 5-4A play) who had 243 yards of total offense but turned the ball over four times in the first half.
“Offensively, I thought we did what we wanted to do and needed to do,” Newton County coach Bobby Bass said. “You just can’t turn the ball over three times in a half, especially for us. We held the ball and controlled the clock but the turnovers just killed us. Until we get some guys back healthy, we just have to hang on.”
The Cougars put together a 16-play drive that went 75 yards as Carlois Walker scored on a 3-yard run. Lee Hill booted the PAT and County led 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
But Mendenhall answered right back as they scored on their first play from scrimmage with a 58-yard run. The PAT failed and County held on to a 7-6 lead.
After a fumble and then a muffed punt, the Tigers made the Cougars pay as they scored on a 46-yard run on the first play of the second quarter to take a 12-7 lead.
“Our tackling was atrocious,” Bass said. “I didn’t think we played very hard on defense at all and that is frustrating to me.”
The score stayed at 12-7 until late in the second quarter when Mendenhall scored on a 5-yard run after a big 56-yard run to take an 18-7 led with 3:52 left in the half.
After a quick punt, Mendenhall went 47 yards in five plays and scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass with 1:06 left in the half to take a 26-7 lead.
County got the ball and the turnover bug struck again as Walker fumbled and a Mendenhall returned it 63 yards for a touchdown to take a 32-7 lead into the half.
County stopped Mendenhall to start the second half with a big sack on fourth down by Jarvus Tucker. The Cougars then went 46 yards in eight plays as Walker scored on a 1-yard run. Hill’s PAT cut the lead to 32-14.
But Mendenhall responded with a long scoring drive and scored on a 7-yard run to take a 38-14 lead for the final margin.
The Cougars had 243 yards of total offense, all on the ground. Carlois Walker led the way with 190 yards on 29 carries while Devyon May had 22 yards on nine carries.
On defense, Miguel Evans had six solo tackles and five assists with four tackles for loss. Cameron McDonald had two solo tackles and seven assists. Cameron Dukes had three solo tackles and four assists. Jarvis Tucker had two solo tackles, four assists and one sack. Koye Hardaway had two solo tackles and five assists.
