COVINGTON, Ga — The comeback on senior night by the Newton Rams was completed thanks to a herculean effort from  Darius “Hercules” White in overtime. White’s three-touchdown performance gave the Newton Rams a 27-21 victory over the visiting South Gwinnett Comets.

The Rams were down 21-0 to begin the second quarter and were able to fight back from the legs of White and Braylon Miller. 

“That first quarter was our worst first quarter of the entire season,” said head coach Josh Skelton. “We put ourselves in bad situations and that’s not what we do. But we kept fighting and were able to keep the game close.”

White scored twice from 49 and 39 yards on the ground in the first half to keep Newton in the game. 

“Darius wanted the ball in the crucial moment and we decided to ride the hot hand,” Skelton said. “In the running back room we were down a playmaker in Kevin “Tootie” Hartsfield and Hercules was able to step up for us big time.

After taking the opening drive to the Comets three-yard line, the Rams field goal attempt was blocked and that gave the Comets possession at their own 20-yard line.

The Comets got on the scoreboard as their quarterback CJ Peoples connected with Jaleel Braker. The scoring continued from the Comets’ defense as Steven Lloyd recovered a Rams’ fumble on the ensuing Rams offensive possession. 

The Rams were shutout in the first quarter as the Comets were leading 14-0. The Comets began the second quarter with a one yard run from running back Cristopher Frazier. 

After the 21-0 Comets lead the Rams’ defense were able to force the Comets’ offense to punt the ball six consecutive times to finish the second quarter. 

“The defensive unit pitched a shutout for the remainder of the game after the first quarter,” Skelton said. “They showed me that they are resilient and that’s something we preached to them everyday.” 

The Rams field goal unit failed to convert one more time as Sam Vasquez was short on a 36-yard field going into halftime. That left six points on the board going into halftime. 

Both defenses were able to settle in the second half as the game became a defensive battle. The Comets missed two field goals in the fourth quarter to keep the game tied. 

Junior Braylon Miller was able to finally tie the game up for the Rams as he scored from 46-yards out.

After a back-and-forth defensive battle, the game was sent to overtime, setting up White’s heroic third touchdown for the victory.

 The Rams (7-3, 5-1 4-AAAAAA) will host a playoff game as the second seed. They will host Peachtree Ridge (7-3).