Eagles run past McGregor Bulldogs 35-14 in Conroe
By JIMMY GALVAN Managing Editor

Newsboy file photo NEWTON'S JUSTIN MCLEMORE has been a running threat all year long for the Eagles.

The Newton Eagles overcame an early score from the McGregor Bulldogs to claim a victory Friday afternoon in Conroe 35-14.

"The game was a lot tighter than what the final score showed," said Newton Head Football Coach Curtis Barbay. "We knew that they were going to move the ball on us and they did a good job of throwing the ball underneath. They couldn't run the ball but they did keep it away from us."

In fact, McGregor's main defense against Newton appeared to be a ball-controlling offense that would keep Newton's offense off the field.

"That is always a nerveracking part of a game when you are sitting on the sideline and you can't get your hands on the football," Barbay said. "In the end, that was their best defense against us."

Coming into Friday's playoff game, Newton knew they would have to deal with the passing arm of McGregor quarterback Joe Seward, who passed for 247 yards and two touchdowns against Newton.

"He did a good job," Barbay said. "But he has almost thrown for 2,000 yards this year."

But Newton also knew that McGregor would have to deal with a potent Eagle offense that has started to jell with every passing week. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they had to find that out in a Class 2A playoff matchup.

McGregor jumped on the board first when Seward connected with Qualin Brown for a 17- yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. The score came after a scoreless but exciting first half, which saw both teams, drive the field but come up empty on the drives.

The score, with 9:12 left in the second quarter, gave McGregor a quick 7-0 lead.

But the lead would be short-lived for the Bulldogs. Newton came right back on their next possession to tie the contest and give the Bulldogs a taste of what was going to come the rest of the day.

Newton quarterback Nico Adams found Jacoby Ross on a 59-yard scoring pass to knot the score. With 6:46 left in the second quarter, Newton had pulled even with McGregor at 7-all.

"That was the second week in a row that Jacoby Ross made a big play for us," Barbay said.

Newton took the lead for good a short time later. This time, senior running back Justin McLemore found the end zone on a three-yard run with 2:50 left in the second quarter. McLemore would post a game-high 138 yards rushing on the night.

Newton continued to pad their lead in the third quarter as the Eagles started to pull away from the Bulldogs.

Adams capped off a third quarter drive by scoring from a yard out with 5:45 left in the third quarter. The score gave the Eagles a 20-7 lead.

But McGregor was not about to let this game slip away that fast. The Bulldogs mounted one last scoring drive that was capped off when Seward connected with Brown once again. This time it was from 15 yards out and with 11:53 left in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs had pulled to within 20-14 of the Eagles.

But a trademark of the Newton Eagles has been how they answer to challenges and during this playoff game, the Eagles did just that.

As McGregor took a breath of new life, Newton snatched it away from them and answered their score with two fourthquarter scores to seal the playoff victory.

First, Adams scored from a yard out with 9:24 left in the fourth quarter and then junior James Burch finished off the Bulldogs by rambling in from 20 yards out with 6:24 left in the game.

"We executed well and threw the ball well," Barbay said. "We made the big plays when we needed to."