By By Robbie Robertson / The Newton Record
Oct. 16, 2004
DECATUR After a 55-8 loss to Lamar last week and star running back Patton Stanley sidelined with an injury, the outlook was rather bleak for the Wayne Academy Jaguars.
So much for outlooks.
Behind the 100-yard rushing efforts of Jared Crane and Brett Coxwell, the Wayne Academy Jaguars claimed the Division 5-A championship with a 39-12 win over Newton County Academy Friday night.
Wayne, the preseason No. 1 in Academy A, improved to 7-2 on the season and 5-0 in 5-A play and will host a playoff game in two weeks. Newton falls to 7-2 (4-1 in 5-A) on the season and finishes second in 5-A and will travel to Louisiana for the first round of the Academy A playoffs.
After last week's severe beating at the hands of AAA Lamar, Wayne appeared to show no ill effects of that contest.
The Jaguars used a punishing rushing attack that averaged 8.3 yards a carry to wear down the General defense. On the night, Wayne rushed for 388 yards and 20 first downs. Crane led the way with 151 yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns. Coxwell, a replacement for Stanley, had 128 yards on 18 carries.
The Jaguars dominated the first half with its punishing ground game, jumping out to a 20-0 halftime lead.
Wayne only had the ball three times in the first half and scored on all three possessions. The first came with 6:10 left in the first quarter as Crane scored on a 1-yard run. The 2-point try failed for a 6-0 Wayne lead.
After a quick three-and-out for Newton and a 45-yard punt return, Wayne need only four plays to score as Colby Beasley hit Greg Kirkland on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 2:48 left in the first for a 12-0 Wayne lead.
Newton put together a long drive that went 18 plays but ended on the Wayne 27 as Newton turned the ball over on downs.
Wayne quickly marched down the field and Coxwell scored on an 8-yard run with one minute left in the half for a 20-0 halftime lead.
Wayne went up 26-0 on the first drive of the second half as Crane scored on a 7-yard run to cap a 7-play 66-yard drive.
Newton got on the board on the next drive as Dustin McGowin scored on an 8-yard run with 4:32 left in the third as Wayne led 26-6.
After Wayne went up 32-6 on Crane's third TD of the night on a 15-yard run, Newton scored its last points as Lee Blackburn broke loose on a 44-yard run with 11:11 left in the game. The two-point try failed and Wayne led 32-12.
Wayne tacked on an additional score with 2:14 left in the game as Beasley scored on a 5-yard run.
Newton had 183 yards of total offense with 10 first downs. Blackburn led the way with 77 yards on 16 carries.