Brooks: 'They were very physical and we failed to match their intensity'
By JIMMY GALVAN Managing Editor

Newsboy photo/Georgia Purdy JASPER'S DOMINIQUE BAILEY is brought down by Newton's Dillon Flanigan during Friday's 35-6 Eagle victory.

One team was coming off a stunning road win while the other was entering Friday's contest on the heels of a disappointing season opener.

Both teams reversed their ways Friday.

Newton scored early and often as the Eagles ran away with an easy 35-6 victory over rival Jasper at Singletary Stadium Friday, Sept. 14.

"I thought Newton played a good football game and they were ready to play," said Jasper Head Football Coach Thomas Brooks. "Their kids were very aggressive. It seems that we are doing a lot of thinking instead of playing but whatever it was, we need to get physical.

"(Newton) was very physical and we didn't match their intensity," Brooks said.

Newton Head Football Coach Curtis Barbay was pleased with his team's performance.

"We played hard and played hard the whole game," Barbay said. "We played very physical on Friday. We made a lot of mistakes last week. We played an almost perfect game against Jasper. It will be hard to improve on that."

Newsboy photo/Georgia Purdy JASPER'S WILLIAM BROOKS brings down Newton's Justin McLemore during second half action Friday.

Even with the victory, Barbay believes his Eagles still have aspects of the game that need to be refined before district season begins.

"We are turning the ball over too much," Barbay said. "You can't do that and win. A lot of our fumbles are on exchanges that should be automatic but they are not."

Brooks said playing teams like Newton will only improve his Bulldogs as the season proceeds.

"You can be 3-0 by playing against weaker opponents but that won't help you down the line," Brooks said. "Making the playoffs is our goal and we still have a chance to do that."

Newton entered the contest with strong intensity as the Eagles scored on their first possession of the night. Starting from their own 28, the Eagles moved right down the field on 10 plays to take an early lead.

The Eagles used the running of seniors Justin McLemore and Mickell Cooper to move down the field. The drive reached the Jasper 3 and Newton as faced with a fourth and goal call with six minutes left in the first quarter.

Newsboy photos/Georgia Purdy NEWTON'S JUSTIN MCLEMORE, above, breaks away from Jasper's Carlos Carter (75) and Michael Crowell during the second half of Friday's contest. Pictured left, Jasper's Dominique Bailey eludes Nicholas Adams during a punt return.

Newton elected to go for the touchdown and the move paid off when McLemore busted over the right side of the line for an easy three-yard score. With 6:10 left in the first quarter, Newton held 6-0 lead when the PAT failed.

On Jasper first possession of the night, the Bulldogs attempted to move the ball through the airwaves but was stalled by a stubborn Newton secondary and a hard-rushing pressure defense.

"Our secondary played real good," Barbay said. "It was a big improvement over what they have been doing. We put pressure on the QB but our secondary really stepped up. I didn't know if our secondary could cover Jasper's players one-on-one and they did a great job with that."

Brooks, agreed, saying he thought Newton's defensive secondary played a strong contest.

"We never could get separation for our receivers," Brooks said. "They also did a good job with their pass rushing and it seemed like we had somebody in our face."

On the Dawgs' second possession of the night, Jasper went back to the ground game and quickly started moving the ball.

Jasper claimed their initial first down on a Cameron Stubblefield scramble down to the Jasper 46. Kaddaroe Rawls then busted off a 16- yard gain to the Newton 38.

Jasper reached the Newton 27 but utilizing their ground attack but then went back to the air and found the same results as on their first drive of the night. Three straight incomplete passes left Jasper facing a fourth and 10 call from the Newton 27.

Octavious Rawls gained a yard on a fourth-down carry to hand the ball back over to Newton at their own 26 at the 3:13 mark and end Jasper's sole scoring threat of the first quarter.

While Jasper's offense continued to sputter, Newton kept pouring on the pressure and points.

This Eagle scoring drive didn't feature the normal vaunted Newton running attack but an aerial display from the right arm of senior quarterback Nicholas Adams.

Adams connected with Stephen Alfred on a 44-yard scoring strike as the Eagles lit up the scoreboard again. McLemore converted a twopoint conversion as Newton grabbed 14-0 lead with 8:55 left in the second quarter.

It would be all the points Newton would need on the night.

"When you have a year like you had last year, it gets to the point that the kids start thinking 'here, we go again,'" Brooks said. "We can't afford to do that and that's my job as the head coach to show them there will be bad times in 48 minutes of football.

"You have to weather the storms and play football for 48 minutes," Brooks said. "And that's my job and that's what I am working to do."

Midway through the second quarter, Jasper finally completed their first pass of the night when Stubblefield connected with the talented Malcolm Bronson on a short pattern. The senior started to his right and then headed to the midfield area where he was stripped of the ball and recovered by Newton at the Eagle 37.

The Eagles' drive fell short when Jasper's Dante Rollins recovered a Adams' fumble with 5:38 left in the second quarter.

On the Eagles next possession, Newton made sure they held onto the ball and score once again.

Buried deep in their own territory by a Derrick Day 43- yard punt, the Eagles made quick work on the long field. Junior James Burch did the honors when he broke through Jasper's defense for a 67-yard run to push the Eagles' lead out to 21-0 with 2:05 left in the second quarter.

As the second half started, Newton took the second-half kickoff and lit up the scoreboard again. Starting from their own 25, the Eagles moved the ball down the field using their running attack and chewing up the game clock as well.

The drive reached the Jasper 27 when again the Eagles went to the air to score. This time, backup quarterback Halston Flanigan connected with Jacoby Ross on a pass down the right sideline for a score with 6:56 left in the third quarter and a 28-0 Newton lead.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Eagles put a little icing on their cake. The score was also a good measure of how the contest went for Jasper all night long.

Jasper's front four pressure quarterback Adams out of the pocket and was on the verge of sacking him when he found Flanigan in the end zone for a seven-yard scoring toss with 8:02 left in the fourth and a 35- 0 lead.

Jasper finally was able to score late in the contest. Starting from their own 38, the Bulldogs engineered a 13-play drive that was culminated by a great one-handed catch by Bronson.

Stubblefield found Bronson on the left side of the end zone for the touchdown that averted the shutout for the Dawgs.

"It seemed like last year, after the Newton game, everything went down for Jasper and that's why I didn't make this game a do or die situation," Brooks said. "I tried to play this off as just another ballgame and now we can start getting ready for district.

DAWG NOTES: Christian Goff and Kimpton Lewis limped off the field late in the contest against Newton.

EAGLE NOTES: This week, Newton will take on its second straight District 21-3A opponent as the Silsbee Tigers visit Singletary Stadium. The Tigers will come in smarting from a 35-0 loss to Port Neches-Groves.

"They had six or seven turnovers and you can't win when you do that," Barbay said. "I don't think we will take this game for granted."