Every football coach wants to enter the playoffs playing well and Newton County coach Bobby Bass is no different.
That’s certainly the case for the Cougars as they got another big night from running back Carlois Walker who had 278 yards rushing and five touchdowns as the Cougars hammered Northeast Jones 35-7 on Friday night to close out the regular season.
With the win, the Cougars are 6-5 on the season and will travel to Jackson to play at Jackson Lanier in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.
The Cougars won their third straight division game to make the playoffs for the first time in five years.
“I thought we played pretty well,” Bass said. “It’s a culmination of getting some players back and they are playing better at the same time. Having No. 12 (Colin Crowder) back helps a lot. With him being out there, the other kids play better. It’s like a security blanket because he just goes and makes so many tackles. But I’m proud of our team. That was probably the best we have played as a team all season long.”
The Cougars struggled on offense for the majority of the first half before finally getting something going midway through the second. The Cougars went 80 yards in seven plays, thanks in part to a 58-yard run by Donovan McCoy. The Cougars finished off the drive as Carlois Walker scored on an 8-yard run with 5:57 left in the half. Lee Hill’s PAT was good and County led 7-0.
After a quick Northeast Jones punt, the Cougars hit the big play as Walker scored on a 68-yard touchdown run with 4:14 left in the half. Hill’s PAT gave the Cougars a 14-0 lead.
Northeast put together it’s only scoring drive to close out the first half as they went 72 yards in 11 plays and scored on a 1-yard run with less than a minute to go in the half to cut County’s lead to 14-7.
After trading punt to start the second half, the Cougars got another big play from Walker as he scored on an 89-yard run. Hill’s PAT gave the Cougars a 21-7 lead.
The Cougars added two more touchdowns in the second half as Walker scored on a 6-yard run and finished with a 65-yard run.
“Carlois had another good night running the football,” Bass said. “We are definitely playing with more confidence right now. We are playing good team football right now and that’s what it takes to win. I think we are hitting our strike going into the playoffs and that’s where you want to be.”
The Cougars had 373 yards rushing on 24 carries as Walker ran for 278 yards on 13 carries with five TDs. Donovan Mapp was 6-of-14 passing for 40 yards to give the Cougars 413 yards of total offense.
On defense, Colin Crowder had another big game as he had 11 solo tackles and five assists along with a fumble recovery. Cameron McDonald had seven solo tackles and four assists while Kaleb Blackwell had seven solo tackles and one assist. Miguel Evans had five solo tackles and two assists while Jarvus Tucker had three solos and four assists.
This week’s game
The Cougars will head into the first round of the Class 4A playoffs as the No. 3 seed out of Division 5-4A and will travel to Jackson to take on the Lanier Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs are 6-4 on the season and have wins over Yazoo City (34-14), Jim Hill (32-18), Jefferson County (34-28), North Pike (30-14), Raymond (46-6) and Lawrence County (22-6). They have losses to South Pike (14-0), McComb (13-6), Columbus (13-12) and Provine (21-0).
Bass said the Bulldogs are not your normal JPS team and will put a physical, run-based football team on the field.
“They have some good athletes,” Bass said. “They are very physical and have some guys who can run on defense. They get under center most of the time and run it right at you and have done a good job with that. They move their kids around and keep you guessing what they are going to do.”
“I think it’s going to be a good matchup. I’m excited about the opportunity and excited for our kids and our community. They haven’t experienced a playoff game in five year and haven’t won one in 10 or 11 years.”
