By Staff
LOOKING FOR MORE Newton County's Justin Blackburn fights for more yards with a defender trying to bring him down in recent high school football action. The Cougars host Carthage on Friday. PHOTO BY PAULA MERRITT / THE MERIDIAN STAR
By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Oct. 16, 2003
Newton County, Carthage, and Forest are busy chasing West Lauderdale in the Division 5-3A standings as the 2003 regular season winds down.
West is 3-0, Carthage is 3-1, and Newton County and Forest are both 2-1.
All four will pair off against each other Friday night as Newton County hosts Carthage and Forest hosts West Lauderdale.
Newton County improved to 2-1 in 5-3A and 3-4 overall with last week's 27-21 win at Morton in a game delayed by two hours when the officials assigned to the contest were no shows.
Carthage lost 13-12 to Forest last week to fall to 3-1 and 3-4. Newton County edged Forest 14-13 two weeks ago.
In beating Morton, the Cougars got 131 yards on 26 rushes from Duke Hudnall. Kendrick Gallaspy and Eddie Wilson led the defense with nine and eight tackles, respectively.
The Cougars have won six straight in the series to take a 6-2 all-time lead.
at Kemper County
The Hornets and Wildcats square off for the first time Friday at DeKalb as both are members of Division 5-2A.
Lake, 0-2 in 5-2A and 2-5 overall, battled Philadelphia tough last week before losing 7-6. Kemper County, 1-1 and 1-6, made a strong run at Nanih Waiya before losing 25-20.
Williams-Sullivan
at Newton
Newton lost another tough battle last week, falling 3-0 in overtime at West Lauderdale despite holding the Division 5-3A-leading Knights to just 83 total yards.
This week, the Tigers, 1-1 in Division 5-2A and 2-5 overall, host Williams-Sullivan, 0-2 and 3-4, for homecoming.
The Yellowjackets started their year 3-0 before losing their last four outings. The last two losses were to Kemper County and Clarkdale with the Bulldogs beating the Jackets 25-8 last week at Durant.
When the Jackets were on a positive roll, they became the only team to defeat Durant High School this fall.
Newton holds a 2-0 series lead, winning 46-0 in less than a half in 2001 and 44-14 last year.
Union
at Thomastown
After losing their first three games, the Yellowjackets have won four straight to sneak back into the playoff picture. Union's 4-3 mark in Region 3-1A is currently good for fourth place.
But it hasn't been easy. Union rallied from a 14-2 halftime deficit to defeat Sebastopol 15-14 last week. The Jackets struggled to win 20-12 at Pisgah the previous week.
In both games, standout running back Anthony Johnson was a non-factor due to a hamstring injury.
Union closes its regular season with 3-1A leader Scott Central and defending Class 1A state champion Puckett.
Thomastown has lost its last three games to drop to 3-3 in 3-1A and 4-3 overall.
The series is even at 1-1.