COVINGTON, Ga. – Under the bright lights at Sharp Stadium, the Newton Rams fell short against the Douglas County Tigers on Saturday night, losing 35-15.
The Rams faced a tough task coming into the game, as the Tigers are ranked fourth in the state of Georgia and 18th in the nation.
Scores from Zion Johnson and Kevin Hartsfield kept the Rams in the game early, leading 15-14 for a good portion of the first half. But a late second quarter touchdown by the Tigers caused the Rams to trail 21-15.
The Rams never recovered from that score, as the Tigers scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to seal the game.
An errant opening kick gave the Tigers good field position to start the game. This led the way for running back Zamarcus Lindley to bolt through the Newton defense untouched for the first score of the night.
Following an unsuccessful onside kick by the Tigers, a big conversion from quarterback Deron Benson to wide receiver Malik Brightwell set up a rushing score by the Cincinnati commit Johnson. A successful two-point conversion by Johnson gave the Rams the lead 8-7.
The Rams stopped the Tigers on a fake punt attempt to get good field position. A direct snap, this time to Hartsfield, allowed the Rams to take the early 15-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers, however, saw the momentum shift back in their favor with a long pass from DJ Boudreaux to wide receiver Aaron Gregory. This set up a 2-yard rushing touchdown for Rah’keith Kelly.
A three and out by the Rams set up another big pass for Boudreaux to Aaron Gregory. This led to a 15-yard run by Jachari Streeter to put the Tigers up 21-15 at the end of the half.
The third quarter was widely uneventful, with neither team scoring. But on the first play of the fourth quarter, Boudreaux charged into the endzone on a quarterback keeper to put the Tigers up 28-15.
Determined to bounce back, the Rams drove all the way down to the Tiger’s 30-yard line. But a missed pass in the wildcat formation by Johnson and a fourth down sack to Benson resulted in the Tigers taking over on downs.
A late rushing touchdown by Michael Haste put the Tigers up 35-15 with 2:24 remaining in the game.
Benson hit Brightwell for another big play in the final minutes of the game. However, the stars did not align for the Rams, as Benson overthrew his target to cause a turnover on downs with 1:04 remaining.
The victory formation sealed the deal for the Tigers as the Rams fell to 1-2 on the season, the first time this has occurred since 2013.
The Rams will travel north for their next game as they head to East St. Louis, Illinois to face the East St. Louis Flyers. The game will take place on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m.
