Courage is inner power to make you fight for your very existence and trying, when you know you may lose. Courage and determination makes a fighter.

— Anil Sinha

Our Newton Rams finally went up against an opponent that even courage and determination couldn’t beat.

The Wheeler Wildcats had just too much strength. The Wheeler boys’ basketball team is not only the No. 1 seed in the Georgia Class AAAAAA basketball playoffs, but it is also ranked No. 7 in the nation according to USA Today, and its star player Jaylen Brown is ranked the top prospect in Georgia and No. 2 in the country.

But Newton led late in the second quarter, and kept it within double digits until the final quarter, before ultimately losing — albeit with its head held high.

The Rams fought their way to the final eight by beating Tift County and Dacula and in doing so gave the hometown fans much to be excited about.

We are proud of our Rams and we thank each and every member of the team for giving us something exciting and pure to have some pride in here in Newton County during these times when we needed it the most.