By. Eric R. Wallace

COVINGTON - Patience and pass execution were the keys to a 6-1 victory for the Newton High boys soccer team Thursday in its region match against M.L. King at Homer Sharp Stadium.

In girls action, patience also played a virtue, with the Lady Rams winning, 3-2, after Tauntiana Kennedy drove to the net for the winning goal in the second half of overtime.

For the boys, the Rams (4-5 overall, 2-3 Region 2-AAAAA) desperately needed the win to stay in the hunt for a possible playoff run.

The game started off with both teams finding it hard to find the net before Newton's Caleb Adamo scored on a header at the four minute and 24 second mark of the first period.

"The ball ricocheted off one of their players," said Adamo. "Their guys didn't mark up at midfield and I was able to put it through."

The first half ended with the Rams holding on to their 1-0 edge.

Newton extended its lead, 2-0, off the foot of Jonathan Triana at the 35:49 clip in the second half. It sparked a 5-0 run until the 10:47 mark when Mana Mondu scored the Lions' only goal of the contest.

"I was a little nervous coming into the game because of the way we hadn't been playing well," said Newton head coach Tim Hardison. "M.L. King is very athletic, but our kids stepped up and played well."

In the girls game, the Lady Lions drew first blood with just 30 seconds off the clock on a long shot by Balilee Smith.

Smith scored another goal at the 39:29 mark of the second half to give M.L. King a 2-0 advantage.

The Lady Rams (5-4, 4-1) got on the board off a line drive to the net by Claire Davis before she tied the game on a penalty kick with time running out in regulation.

"I feel really good to get this win," said Davis. "I'm really proud of our team."

For most of the second half, the Lady Lions found it difficult to put the ball in scoring position because of a tenacious defensive display put on by the Lady Rams.

Newton put together a staunch offensive surge in the closing minutes of the contest to ultimately secure the victory.

"It's our first comeback of the year," said Newton girls head coach Mary Roach. "We played well as a team considering we had new people in new positions. I thought we came together very well in a short amount of time."

Newton will next visit Redan High at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.