By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Sept. 11, 2003
Since their first meeting in 1972, the Heidelberg Academy Rebels have owned their football series with Newton County Academy, winning 24 of 26 contests. Fourteen of the wins were by at least 30-point margins.
The Generals would like to do something about that when the teams meet Friday at Decatur for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
In the last three meetings, Heidelberg has outscored NCA 153-0. The Rebels won 47-0 last year en route to the Academy Class A state championship.
NCA comes in with a 2-1 mark after beating Calhoun Academy 44-0 and Kemper Academy 44-6 in its last two outings.
The Generals had 347 yards total offense at Kemper with John Shellenback completing 3-of-5 passes for 125 yards and Lee Blackburn rushing for 93 yards on 10 carries and Justin Blackburn gaining 88 yards on 11 rushes. Daniel Grimes caught two passes for 100 yards.
Bay Springs at Newton
Both teams head to E.L. Morgan Field Friday trying to rebound from losses in last week's action. Newton fell to 0-2 with a 31-14 loss at Ackerman, while Bay Springs saw its record dip to 1-1 with a 33-6 loss to Northeast Jones.
Bay Springs opened with a 20-0 blanking of Stringer.
After not playing the last two seasons, the teams resume their tight rivalry. From 1961-2000, the teams met 40 times with Newton clinging precariously to a 20-19-1 series advantage.
Nanih Waiya at Union
The Yellowjackets look for their first win when they host Nanih Waiya Friday.
Union fell to 0-2 with a 26-6 loss to South Leake last week. The Jackets managed just 63 yards in the loss.
Nanih Waiya hammered Sebastopol 51-6 last week to even its record at 1-1. The loss was a 14-12 decision at defending Class 1A state champion Puckett.
Union holds a slim 2-1 advantage in the young series.
Carthage at Lake
Both teams enter Friday's matchup at Death Valley with 0-2 records. Lake lost 24-12 at Raleigh last week, while Carthage fell to 2002 Class 1A state runner-up Weir 31-0.
In the Hornets' loss, Joseph Hunt completed touchdown passes of 38 yards to Ivon Hickman and 84 yards to Danny Towner. On the night, Hunt passed for 236 yards as the Hornets racked up 315 total yards.