For the second straight week, the Newton Tigers played in extreme temperatures.
And for the second straight week, the Tigers wilted in the midday sun.
The Tigers struggled on offense against Hazlehurst and dropped a 33-8 decision to open the season in a game played at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
Newton, now 0-1 on the season, will host Forest this week.
Newton coach Zach Grady said he found out one thing for sure on Saturday.
“I realize we aren’t a very good them when it’s 95 degrees,” Grady said. “The sun was cooking us, and heat was a factor. We just made too many mental mistakes, but Hazlehurst played well. After watching the film, the mental mistakes were all fixable. I think we will be fine if we can clean some of those things up. They have 23 seniors and a veteran squad and were pretty good. Both teams we have played are good football teams and you have to play good teams to get better.”
The Indians took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter and used field position to get its next score. The Indians pinned the Tigers down deep in their own territory with a 70-yard punt. That set up a short field and gave the Indians a 14-0 lead.
The Indians added a late score before the half and led 21-0 at the half.
“They pinned us deep with a 70-yard punt and that gave them a short field,” Grady said. “They got in one last play before the half. I thought the clock ran out, but they got a little home cooking and got three more seconds and they scored again.”
The Indians added two more scores in the second half while Newton got a punt return touchdown from Keshawn Lofton for their only score.
“The second half was a battle of who could stand up,” Grady said. “Both teams were gassed. It was smoking hot on that turf. We were able to get through it and only had two to get cramps. We just have to fix those mistakes and get ready for Forest. We missed a lot of opportunities early that should have been scores. We have to clean some things up this week. We just need to get some practice time and get everybody there at practice. We had four guards out this week with strep. It was just a tough week.”
The Tigers had 188 yards of total offense with 62 yards passing and 126 yards rushing. Tyreke Snow had 92 yards rushing on 19 carries and was 11-of-20 passing for 67 yards with one interception.
“We ended the game on the 3 and had our chances,” Grady said. “We had a lot of chances to score and just didn’t capitalize. We were in the red zone four times and didn’t score a TD. That’s very frustrating. You have to score when you get that close. They score on the last play of the half and had a pick six, so the score was not as lopsided as it looked.”
