Marty Stamper/Staff Reporter
The Newton Record
NEWTON
September 03, 2008 03:08 pm
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The Newton County Cougars used a strong second-half effort to claim a 27-19 victory at Enterprise’s L.J. Davis Field Friday night in their season opener.
Trailing 12-7 at halftime, the Cougars outscored the Bulldogs 20-7 in the second half to come away with the win.
“I thought we came back the second half and showed a lot of character,” said Cougars’ head coach Jeff Breland. “You’ve got to tip your hat to Enterprise. They played their hearts out and I thought our kids played their hearts out. It was just a good football game.”
Bottled up most of the first half, the Cougars had three plays of 40 yards or more in the second half.
“We’ve been concerned about our run blocking, but the second half we got it going a little bit,” Breland said. “Floyd (Graves) made some big runs and we had a big play in the passing game with Michael (Granger) and Patrick (Ezell).”
Newton County had only 20 total yards in the first quarter, but got the game’s first score early in the second period. A 59-yard run by Graves set up his 2-yard touchdown run with 9:45 left in the first half. Aaron Scoggin added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
Enterprise answered in a hurry as Dion Johnson returned the kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown. A bad snap on the PAT resulted in an incomplete two-point attempt, leaving Enterprise trailing 7-6.
Newton County then reached the Bulldog 25 before turning the ball over on downs following two incompletions.
Enterprise needed only seven plays to take the lead. A 33-yard run by Roshawn Johnson to the Cougar 33 set up his 11-yard scoring run with 2:28 to go in the half. A two-point pass again failed as the Bulldogs led 12-7.
Enterprise had a chance to land a knockout blow after recovering a short kickoff at the Cougar 40. However, the Cougar defense dug in and Kevin Lewis was off-target on a 35-yard field goal try as the half ended.
“It was a huge series there,” said Breland. “We fumbled the kick, but our defense made some plays and we held them out of the end zone. It was a great effort on their part.”
The Cougars opened the second half with an eight-play drive that covered 59 yards before stalling on downs at the Enterprise 1. The big play was a 44-yard run by Graves to the 7.
On the Bulldogs’ first offensive play after stopping the Cougars, Roshawn Johnson fumbled with Newton County’s C.J. Mapp recovering at the 1. Graves needed only one shot to reclaim the lead for the Cougars. Scoggin’s kick gave Newton County a 14-12 lead with 8:55 to go in the third quarter.
Graves finished the night with 219 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. Late in the third quarter, the Cougars covered 65 yards only to have Scoggin misfire on a 27-yard field goal try. Graves again had the big gainer as he dashed 53 yards to the Enterprise 23.
After forcing a Bulldog punt in the first minute of the fourth quarter, Ezell hit Granger on a short pass and the two-time Class 3A state 100-meter champion zipped 70 yards to the end zone. Scoggin’s kick extended the lead to 21-12 with 10:48 to play.
“That was a check on their part,” Breland said of the touchdown pass. “That wasn’t anything I called.”
Enterprise trimmed the lead to 21-19 just two plays later. Roshawn Johnson got 22 yards on the first play with Dion Johnson covering the last 50 on the second. Lewis’ kick was good with 10:03 still on the clock.
Then it was vintage Cougar football. Newton County put together a 15-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 6-yard touchdown run by Graves with only 2:25 remaining. The extra point failed, leaving Enterprise within eight points at 27-19. The big play came when Ezell kept on an option on fourth-and-2 at the Cougar 44 and picked up seven yards on his first carry of the game. He later gained seven yards on a third-and-6 at the Bulldog 28.
“Patrick had some big runs on the option on that last drive that bailed us out,” Breland said.
Four plays gained only six yards for Enterprise as the Cougars took over on downs and ran out the clock.
“We’re tickled to death with the win,” Breland said. “Sure, we made a lot of mistakes, but out guys bounced back and made plays when they had to.”
“I thought our defense played extremely well. They played the whole first half. We did nothing offensively, but our defense bowed up in the second half and played lots better.”
Tyler Robinson led the Cougar defense with 11 tackles. Granger and Ellis Thompson both had eight.
Offensively, Granger had 103 yards on four receptions.
Newton County had 377 total yards to 247 for Enterprise.
Roshawn Johnson had 13 carries for 99 yards for Enterprise. Dion Johnson had seven carries for 98 yards.
Newton County, 1-0, will host Jackson Prep, 2-0, on Thursday. The Patriots defeated Jackson Academy 20-7 last week for their 27th consecutive victory. Prep of the Mississippi Private School Association blanked Newton County 24-0 last year for the Cougars’ only regular-season loss. No doubt the Cougars would love to return the favor this year.
“It’s a big game,” said Breland. “I just hope that we’ll come out with our best effort. I know our kids will respond.”
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