With a new head coach and a new attitude, the Newton County Cougars began their 2018 campaign with a 21-13 win over the Leake Central Gators.
After trailing nearly the entire first half the Gators, who have beaten the Cougars the past two years, scored with 2:16 left in the first half and went into the locker room with a 13-12 lead.
It could have been a three-peat, but with defensive tenacity and a relentless running game by the Cougars’ Marcus Wash, the Cougars prevailed. In his post game speech to the Cougars, head coach Bobby Bass told his players to get used to the feeling and reminded them what it took to shut out Leake Central in the second half.
“Playing four quarters is what it takes to win a ballgame,” Bass said. “Get used to this feeling. Our defense played with attitude and heart. That’s the only way to do it. Then on offense, we came out and were very physical up front. We also had some people (on offense) go down, and some players had to come in and play well, and they did.”
After a quick three-and-out on the first possession of the game, the Cougars capitalized on a Gator fumble on the ensuing punt return. Recovering the Gator fumble near their own 40, the Cougars, led by Wash who had 39 yards on four carries in the drive, blasted down the field but had to settle for a field goal by Cole Shimfessel after a fumble inside the 10 yard line with 7:54 left in the first.
It was the Cougar defense that came through two plays later when Wash stepped up on defense and intercepted Kevron Leflore’s pass in Leake Central territory. While the interception did not result in points, the Cougars’ defense kept the Gators hemmed in their own territory.
With 1:45 left in the first quarter, the Cougars took the 9-0 lead behind the running of Wash and Miguel Evans and two costly penalties against the Gators. Evans rolled into the end zone from two yards out. Shimfessel’s PAT was no good, making the score 9-0.
A big pass play from Hayden West, who Bass credited with “stepping up and playing tough mentally and physically,” to Rod Evans in the beginning of the second quarter set the Cougars up for a short field goal that gave the Cougars a 12-0 lead with 8:47 remaining in the half.
The Gators answered with a touchdown on their next possession when Jay Nash went straight up the middle untouched for a 26-yard touchdown run. The Cougars’ Lamar Morgan blocked the PAT to make the score 12-6.
Before the half ended, Nash broke free on a 48-yard touchdown run against the Cougars. The PAT by Mikal Leflore was good and the Gators’ led for the first time of the half 13-12.
The Cougar defense put points on the board in the third quarter when Evans used his quickness on defense to get into the Gator backfield for a safety and the lead at 14-13. The remainder of the quarter was back and forth between the two offenses with neither one able to capitalize on missed blocks and fumbles.
In the fourth quarter, Evans and Wash tag teamed the Leake Central defense to move the ball nearly 60 yards on eight plays before West hit Morgan with an 18-yard pass play. The PAT by Shimfessel was good with 1:20 left in the game.
Wash led the Newton County offense with 196 yards on 28 carries while Miguel Evans had 41 yards on nine carries.
Noah Cutway led the NCA defense with six solo tackles and three assists with one sack. D.J. Mosely had two solo tackles and four assists.while Sylar Porter had two solo stops and three assists.
This week’s game
The Cougars will hit the road this week as they travel to Class 5A Neshoba Central, who opened the season with a 28-12 win over Kosciusko.
Last year, the Rockets took a 39-14 win over the Cougars.
