Newton County won its first game of the 2012 season Friday night, defeating cross-county and Region 2-AAAAAA rival Alcovy High School 14-7.

"It feels great," Newton coach Cortez Allen said. "I'm proud of our kids."

The Rams (1-4, 1-0) scored twice as many points against the Tigers (2-4) as they had all season, and much of the offense came through sophomore quarterback Kemani Pittman who connected on seven of 12 passes for 191 yards and ran for 63 yards.

Pittman engineered a 67-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter, highlighted by a 34-yard pass to Aaron Pierce. Pittman scored the touchdown himself on a five-yard keeper with 8:42 left in the half. Harrison Stamps added the extra point.

The final blow came early in the third quarter when Pittman hooked up with a wide open David Comer down the right side line for a 68-yard touchdown.

The Newton County defense held the Tigers to a paltry 82 yards of total offense on the night. Robbie Wallace had a pair of interceptions and also recorded a sack. Wallace's second interception occurred during Alcovy's final possession and sealed the victory.

Alcovy's defense made some big plays as well.

With the Rams driving early in the first quarter, Alcovy's Dante Washington pounced on a fumble to stop the drive. Another Newton County possession came to an abrupt end when safety Marcus Williams - who would later take a turn at quarterback for Alcovy - intercepted a pass.

Alcovy's only touchdown came as a direct result of defensive play. With Newton County facing a third and eight at its own 31,
Pittman dropped back to pass only to be sacked by Ryan Adams at the 15.

After a short punt was returned to the Newton County 30, Alcovy's senior quarterback Marcus Williams found Antwan Glover open in the end zone to tie the score at 7-7 with 29 seconds left in the third quarter.

Alcovy got set up for a field goal attempt with six minutes left, but Nick White blocked the kick, to keep the Rams up by seven.

"It has been tough," Coach Allen said of the 2012 season. "But our plan all along has been to get ready for region play.

"The kids proved to be resilient and maybe the tough schedule prepared them for tonight."

The win by the Rams convoluted bragging rights throughout the three Newton County schools, however, since Eastside defeated Newton County and lost to Alcovy.