COVINGTON, Ga. — With heavy rain coming down all night at Sharp Stadium, the Newton Rams leaned on the run game to down the Alcovy Tigers 62-6 and reclaim the Newton Cup.

The 7:30 p.m. kickoff quickly turned into a 9:13 p.m. kickoff with inclement weather in the area, but the Rams showed no rust when they emerged from the locker room with the prize on the line.

After a kickoff return from Derrick Miller, head coach Josh Skelton and the Rams did not waste much time putting the ball in the hands of star back Kevin Hartsfield.

A few plays into the drive, Hartsfield punched in his first of multiple scores on a six-yard rush.

Things went from bad to worse for the Tigers in just one minute of game time.

A snap to Tigers quarterback Trey Bryant was low, and the Rams’ defensive line got into the backfield and recovered with strong field position for the offense.

Just five plays later, Darius ‘Hercules’ White bulldozed his way across the goal line for a touchdown.

After an Alcovy punt, Hartsfield went off to the races.

The sophomore back broke through the line and sprinted past the entire secondary untouched for a 47-yard touchdown.

But Hartsfield was not done there.

With their backs against the goal line, Newton put the ball in Hartsfield’s hands again and he hit a dead sprint for an 88-yard touchdown.

Newton hit the ground running as soon as the delay was over, and head coach Josh Skelton was proud of the effort the team showed through the adversity.

“We talked about playing real, clean football,” Skelton said. “We had a lot of goals tonight and we responded well toward the end of the first half and in the second half, I thought we did really well there. Had a lot of adversity with the delays and things like that, you really have to keep your guys locked in and things of that nature. Our guys played hard, stayed focused and we were able to execute.”

The Newton defense kept the pressure on as they went on to force two more turnovers before halftime.

The first came when they knocked the ball out of Ayden Goddard’s hands on third and goal to stop a strong Tigers’ drive.

The second came on a deep ball from Bryant that was a touch overthrown as it landed in the hands of Newton’s Martez Jones.

While the run game had a day in the rain, Newton quarterback Deron Benson still found a way to succeed in the tough conditions.

The four-year starter connected on a pair of touchdowns as he found receivers Derrick Miller and Devin Barber for scores.

When halftime arrived at Sharp Stadium, Newton held a commanding 41-0 lead over the Tigers.

“We didn’t change a thing [offensively with the weather], we wanted to be physical,” Skelton said. “We wanted to be physical, especially up front. Getting the guys going, I thought all of our offensive lineman played well.”

As the second half began, so did the running clock as the Tigers took the field to begin the third quarter.

After Bryant scrambled to earn a first down early in the drive, Alcovy ultimately had to punt to Miller and the Rams.

Following some quality runs from Kaden Hambright and White, Newton was set up in the red zone for Benson’s third touchdown pass of the game.

Benson looked to the corner of the end zone to find Jaqwan Carr for a 15-yard touchdown as the senior wideout beat his man for an easy grab.

The touchdown put Newton ahead 47-0 and marked Benson’s third touchdown to a third different pass catcher.

Following a quick drive from Alcovy, Hamnbright had his turn to go off to the races.

The senior bursted through the defensive line and ran untouched down the center of the Sharp Stadium for a 65-yard touchdown run to make it a 55-0 lead for the Rams.

After another fumble from the Tigers on the snap, Newton’s second string offense found itself on the goal line with a chance to score.

From there, freshman quarterback Josiah Frazier took in a one-yard carry for his first career touchdown as a Newton Ram.

Frazier’s score made it a 62-0 lead for Newton as the team’s final score, but it was not the last of the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Alcovy’s Kaeden Booker caught the ball and maneuvered his way through defenders and across the field for a touchdown to put the Tigers on the board late.

After a missed point-after attempt, Newton led 62-6 as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

When the clock hit 0:00, the Rams once again found themselves in possession of the Newton Cup after falling short a year ago.

Following the game, Skelton shared his thoughts on the impact of the county rivalry and although it was an exciting night, the team is now focused on the next task of week three.

“It’s always special and like I said, I think it is big for the community and big for the guys,” Skelton said. “You got your rivals and I got so much respect for both Eastside and Alcovy. I think both of those guys do a great job. Anytime we get a win against each squad in one season is always great. I can’t be more proud of the guys. We got really big goals and we are just one game at a time, one possession at a time. We are not looking at anything further than the next practice right now. 

The win moves the Rams to 2-0 on the season as they will now prepare for a tough task in the form of Douglas County. Newton will take on the Tigers(2-0) on the road on Friday, Aug. 29.

For Alcovy, the loss drops it to 0-2 on the season as they will look to rebound against the Eastside Eagles(1-1) at Sharp Stadium on Friday, Aug. 29.