Newton football coach Zach Grady said his Tigers played much better this past week against Raymond.
It just didn’t result in a win.
Raymond scored 18 unanswered points and took a 24-7 win over visiting Newton on Friday night.
With the loss, the Tigers fall to 0-5 on the season and will travel to Hazlehurst on Friday night.
Grady said his young squad is still improving.
“We came out slow but were finally able to get one in,” Grady said. “We had some opportunities but turned the ball over too many times. We just can’t seem to get out of our own way. We have to do a better job of protecting the football. We are still a young team and making those young mistakes.”
Raymond got the ball to start the game and went 65 yards in six plays as they scored on a 16-yard quarterback keeper. The PAT failed and Raymond led 6-0.
Newton finally got on the board midway through the second quarter when Tyrik Snow hit Tyshun Evans on a 44-yard touchdown pass. Mo Ali’s PAT was good and Newton held a 7-6 lead.
But Ramyond answered right back in two plays as they scored on a 20-yard quarterback keeper to go back up 12-7.
After a Newton interception, Raymond added another first-half score as they scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass to go up 18-7.
“We were inside the 30 three times and turned the ball over,” Grady said. “You can’t win like that. When you get down close, you have to finish out drives and get in the end zone. I thought we had every opportunity to win the game. But there were so many little mistakes and just some football immaturity. I thought the offensive line played better and are getting better. It’s one of the better games they have played. The turnovers just killed us though.”
Snow finished the night with 33 yards rushing on nine carries and was 4-of-7 passing for 65 yards. Evans had three catches for 66 yards.
Lawrence Morris had 11 rushes for 59 yards and was 5-of-11 passing for 53 yards.
On defense, Michael Acker led the team with 11 tackles while Derek Alford had eight stops. Desmond Moore had seven tackles while Atavius Hardy had six tackles. Anthony Smith, Jamarion Hughes and J’Alex Hardy each had five tackles apiece. Brandon Shephard had four tackles while Kasey Watts and Daylon Taylor each had three tackles apiece.
