COVINGTON, Ga. – Sharp Stadium has been the home of many history-making moments over the years. On Thursday, it was the Newton Lady Rams’ turn to do so.

The Lady Rams defeated Thomasville 19-0 and Chattahoochee 26-0 in the first and second rounds of the Division 4 flag football playoffs. It marks the first time that the Lady Rams have advanced to the elite eight in school history.

For Newton, it was a perfect storm of all three phases of the ball.

Quarterback Mya Perry and wide receiver Amaya Anderson were the offensive standouts, with the pair playing a part in every single Lady Ram touchdown of the evening. On defense, it was the efforts of Aryanah Clark and Chardaye Wilkerson that did not allow the opposing teams to score a point.

“I’ve said all year long, we’re gonna hang our hat on defense and if we score 14, we’re going to win the ballgame,” said head coach Steven Gunn. “... I’m so stinkin’ proud of them and how well they came out and competed tonight.”

Game One: Newton 19, Thomasville 0

The hometown Lady Rams looked to start the action quickly. That’s exactly what they did, with Perry taking a 35-yard rush down the middle.

After a successful march downfield, the Lady Rams found paydirt thanks to a touchdown pass by Anderson to Jamira Flournoy.

The Lady Bulldogs looked to answer the Lady Rams’ early score, but came well short of the redzone, punting back to Newton to begin the second quarter.

After both teams traded possessions, the Lady Rams had another chance to score with time expiring in the second quarter. But a controversial sack call halted Newton’s efforts, ending the half.

Immediately, the Lady Bulldogs capitalized on the momentum shift. 

Two offensive plays later, Thomasville found themselves with a first and goal situation. But the Lady Rams secured the goal line stop after a Lady Bulldogs receiver dropped a pass attempt in the end zone.

The offensive woes continued for Newton in the third quarter, with the Lady Rams punting the ball away with time expiring.

But just as it seemed the tides were turning in Thomasville’s favor, Aryanah Clark had other ideas in mind. Clark, who once famously burned NFL star Tyreek Hill on a route in a viral moment, nabbed the interception to give the ball right back to the Rams to start the fourth quarter.

On the next play, it was Anderson’s turn to shine, taking a 30-yard reception and evading four separate defenders. Anderson’s efforts set up Perry for Newton’s second touchdown of the evening.

With the Lady Bulldogs down by two scores, desperation mode was setting in. That proved to be costly, as Sade Jefferson came down with Newton’s second interception of the evening. 

As the clock winded down, the Lady Rams were sure to add one more game-sealing score in the form of an Anderson pass to Clark to secure the 19-0 shutout victory.

Game Two: Newton 25, Chattahoochee 0

After defeating Decatur 14-7, Chattahoochee looked to continue its momentum against a rested Lady Rams squad.

An easy drive to midfield gave the Lady Cougars optimism, but Newton’s defense secured the stop at midfield.

While Perry looked sharp coming out of the break, the rest of the offense struggled to get up to speed. This led to the Lady Rams coming up short on a 4th-and-9 attempt and giving the ball back to the Lady Cougars.

Chattahoochee continued its quest to strike first with time expiring in the first quarter, but Chardaye Wilkerson would not let it happen, grabbing her first sack of the night.

With a deadlocked 0-0 first quarter in the books, the Lady Rams got the ball back and began to heat up in the 40-degree weather. A tough catch by Anderson set up a Perry pitch to Nai'taylia Lane for Newton’s first score.

The Lady Cougars stormed right down the field, seemingly looking to match the Lady Rams’ efforts. As Chattahoochee was on the cusp of scoring, Wilkerson struck again with another turnover on downs after her second sack of the evening.

The Lady Rams ran the two-minute drill for nearly the full distance of the field, leading to yet another Mya-to-Amaya connection to give Newton the 13-0 lead going into halftime.

With the ball back in Newton’s hands to start the third quarter, the Lady Rams wasted no time scoring once again on a Perry pass to Clark.

A staunch defensive effort, paired with a third sack by Wilkerson, stopped any chance of the Lady Cougars coming back in a last-gasp effort.

For good measure, Perry once again wowed the crowd, evading two defenders and taking back a 40-yard quarterback keeper to cement the Lady Rams’ 26-0 victory over the Lady Cougars.

What’s next

Gunn, offensive coordinator Alexis Brown and the Lady Rams will not have long to celebrate the victory, however.

That is because the Lady Rams will face the Marist Lady War Eagles on Monday at Langston Hughes High School. The Lady War Eagles are 15-7, while the Lady Rams are 16-5-1.