Carthage outlasts Newton in scorefest
Eagles have bye week before district play
By JIMMY GALVAN Managing Editor

Newsboy photo/Georgia Purdy NEWTON QUARTERBACK NICHOLAS ADAMS fakes a handoff to Stephen Alfred (22) while pass protection is provided by Justin McLemore (28) and Jim Ed Hughes (55) during last Friday's loss to Carthage.The Bulldogs rallied for a late score to defeat Newton.

When Carthage and Newton squared off last Friday at Singletary Stadium, fans quickly realized the team that scored last would be the winner of the contest.

Unfortunately for the Newton faithful, it was Carthage who had the last score in the contest as the Bulldogs came away with a stunning 43-36 victory over the Eagles.

"It was a good game that went back and forth," said Newton Head Football Coach Curtis Barbay. "Carthage made some plays late in the game and we didn't make ours and they won the ball game.

"Carthage was a much better team than what we saw on tape," Barbay said. "They were pretty tough hitting and they didn't look like that on tape. They were very physical and had a lot of speed."

Newton jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter but Carthage came right back to cut the lead to 7-6 on a long scoring pass.

When the Bulldogs missed the PAT, Newton held on to a 7-6 lead. But the Eagles answered Carthage's score with a long pass of their own to take a 14-6 lead with 1:20 left in the first quarter.

By the halftime break, Newton continued to lead the contest 27-23 and pushed that lead out to 36- 27 in the third quarter.

"We were ahead of them with six minutes to go in the game but then converted a fourth and 12 to lead them to the touchdown that won the game," Barbay said.

A strong defensive stand by Newton stopped Carthage from taking the lead late in the game but the Bulldogs converted a safety to set up the winning score late in the contest.

"We played hard - we didn't play all that good but the effort was there," Barbay said. "And that's all you can ask from your players."

Barbay said even with a loss, his Eagles would improve as a result of playing the Bulldogs from Carthage.

"A game against them like that will make us better," Barbay said. "We ran the ball good against them and threw for three touchdowns. But we had a lot of busted assignments that stopped us on a couple of drives.

The Eagles are off this week and will mark their second bye week of the season. Barbay said he searched for a contest this week but was unable to secure one.

"I don't like to be off," Barbay said. "I didn't plan on it but it will give us some time to get back to the fundamentals."