After going 3-8 last year and a rough offseason, the Newton County Cougars are looking for some success early in the season.
Newton County will play a pre-season jamboree against Lake on Aug. 11.
After playing Lake in a preseason jamboree, the Cougars will open the regular season at Leake Central, a team they lost 14-0 to last year.
“They are going to be athletic, regardless of who their head coach is,” Mitchell said. “Coach Silas did a great job with them and I think the OC got the head job so they will be familiar with their offense. They will be pretty good up front. We will have to play very, very consistent and smart on offense and not put ourselves in bad situations.
“It’s going to be very crucial for us to have some success. We have struggled with success this summer. But they have to know that when we go to Leake Central, we are 0-0. Nothing that has happened before that matters and I don’t know that we understand that right now.”
The Cougars will then host Neshoba Central in their home opener. Last year, the Rockets took a 14-13 win, holding off the Cougars in the final minutes.
“You look back at last year and that’s a game we let get away from us in the end,” Mitchell said. “Coach Schooler will be in his second year and they will be more attuned to what his expectations are. Our guys will get up for Neshoba. A lot of that will play on what happens the week before.”
In week three of the season, the Cougars will then take on Class 2A Scott Central.
“We could be going into a hornets nest there,” Mitchell said. “Coach Nowell is in his second year there. They are athletic and because of the coaching staff, they will compete. Every week is going to be a challenge for us mentally and physically.”
The Cougars will then take on another athletic team in Southeast Lauderdale on Sept. 8. Last year, the Tigers pinned a 20-9 loss on the Cougars.
“I think Southeast brings back most of their skill people,” Mitchell said. “The thing about Southeast that you don’t often notice because of their skill people is their line play. Their offensive line always plays hard against us.”
Then in week 5 of the season, the Cougars will travel to Union and take on Brad Breland and the Yellowjackets, a 27-0 loss last year.
“Union is quickly developing into a rivalry game, which is a good thing,” Breland said. “It’s circled on everybody’s calendar and that’s OK. We played timid and intimidated and shy last year and they whipped our butts and we have had to live with that for a whole year now. I hope our players have been as miserable about that as I have since then.”
On Sept. 22, the Cougars will round out their non-district play against Enterprise for homecoming.
“Hopefully, we will feel pretty good about ourselves at this point in the season,” Mitchell said. “Or we could get there and still be searching for some answers. I know that Enterprise will be well coached and do a good job at doing what they do.”
The Cougars will open Division 5-4A play the next week against Mendenhall, a team that took a tight 20-14 win last year.
“They will be athletic,” Mitchell said. “They’ve got a new coach so there will be an adjustment period for them. They’ve got some things going on down there so we’ll see how that turns out.”
The next week, the Cougars will host Quitman, one of the pre-season front runners in 5-4A.
“Next to West Lauderdale in our district, Quitman is probably the class of the division,” Mitchell said. “Quitman has all of their people back. Their quarterback will be back and he’s a good trigger guy.”
The next two weeks, the Cougars will make their run through Lauderdale County, traveling to Northeast Lauderdale on Oct. 13 and hosting West Lauderdale on Oct. 20.
“I’m going to throw Northeast Lauderdale in there as well,” Mitchell said. “I think talent wise, they can matchup with anybody in the division. Coach Blackburn has done a good job with them and they will be tough. Every week will be a war for us. We will have to scrap and claw and fight to the last whistle and see how things fall for us.”
Against West, the Cougars will be taking on their fiercest rival.
“West is going to be West,” Mitchell said. “They have a new offense and I think they have changed offenses, but I don’t think that will matter. I suspect that you will see them back doing what they have had success with by the time we play them.”
The Cougars will then end the regular season with a road trip to Northeast Jones.
“I think Northeast has a running back and some receivers back,” Mitchell said. “He doesn’t have his quarterback but they always seem to find a way to have a good quarterback who can be effective in their offense. It doesn’t really matter what they do on offense, they will be sound on defense.”
