SNELLVILLE, Ga. — With the football season still a few months away, the Rams put many of their new faces on display with a big spring game win over Shiloh on Friday.
Friday’s game marked the second consecutive year that the Rams and Generals faced off for a spring football game. Just like last year, Newton came away with the win.
Only this time, it was in the form of a rout.
It was a 63-0 win for the Rams that highlighted some familiar, but mostly new faces making plays.
In the team’s first live reps of the spring, head coach Joshua Skelton shared just how ready the team was to compete.
“Real eager,” Skelton said. “We have been practicing so hard amongst each other. Our defense and our offense go against each other really hard and our coaches can’t get another credit — they have coached really hard. Just with organizing meetings, these guys have done a great job. I'm excited about how they practice and I think it translates into the game. They were really eager.”
New year, but the Rams are still running
The run game has always played a big part for the Rams under Skelton, and it does not look like the trend will change in 2025.
If anything, the room is just younger.
After a breakout freshman season, upcoming sophomore Kevin Hartsfield is set to enter the new season with the starting job and a large list of college offers. The 6-foot-2 sophomore had an inaugural season of eight touchdowns and over 700 yards — which resulted in First Team All-Region honors.
Even with the new faces on the team, the second-year back shared how the energy with the team is still more of the same.
“We have a lot of new people, but it feels just like last year,” Hartsfield said. “A lot of bonding and it feels like we have been together. It doesn’t feel like anyone is new, we have the same relationships, we don’t treat anyone different. With how we are bonding now, when we get to the end of the season it will be way better than it was last year.”
The lone veteran in the room is upcoming senior Kaden Hambright, who saw his fair share of snaps against Shiloh.
Hambright scored Newton’s second touchdown on a nine-yard rush to extend the lead to 14-0 in the opening quarter.
A third name to expect in the running back room is incoming freshman, Karter Lumpkin.
Lumpkin is still finishing his middle school tenure, but the soon-to-be freshman did not let that stop him from making plays and gaining college attention.
Earlier in the month, it was announced that Lumpkin received an offer from the University of Georgia. Lumpkin’s father, Kregg Lumpkin, played for the Bulldogs from 2003-07 before a four-year career in the National Football League.
When Lumpkin saw the field on Friday, it did not take long for him to find the endzone.
Lumpkin broke a few tackles on his way to a 48-yard touchdown in the second half of the Rams’ win over Shiloh.
With a youthful, but battle-tested running back room, Skelton spoke about the group’s expectations and what he likes from all three.
“We are really young at the running back position, when you look at Kevin Hartsfield, he is a ninth grader and he ran extremely well today. Kaden Hambright is an upcoming senior and he not only did a great job blocking, but he did a great job running physically,” Skelton said. “I can't give enough credit to Karter Lumpkin. That kid is an eighth grader who came in and produced at a high level. We send a ton of eighth graders, ninth graders [to play]. These guys are all young, they did extremely well. I can't give enough credit to our offensive line as well.”
Benson back for year three
Perhaps the biggest factor for the Rams’ offense in 2025 is the return of upcoming senior Deron Benson, who is set to enter his third year as the team’s starter.
Benson, like he did most of last year, looked calm and poised in the pocket. This allowed him to find ways to get the ball into the hands of some new playmakers.
Newton found the endzone mostly on the ground on Friday, but Benson did connect on a long touchdown when he dumped the ball off to Hartsfield, who raced down the sideline for a touchdown late in the first half.
Although the two teams agreed to not tackle the quarterback, there were numerous times where Benson used his legs to move the sticks and grab extra yardage when the was not a play downfield.
Over the last two seasons, Benson has thrown for 48 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. With another year to prepare as the starter, Benson is potentially set up for a career year as a senior.
New offensive weapons
In his final year, Benson will have his fair share of weapons to throw to despite the departure of players such as Zion Johnson, Malik Brightwell and Andrew Leslie.
One name that is sure to be brought up a ton in 2025 in wide receiver Derrick Miller. Miller is an upcoming senior, and is fresh off a state title as part of Newton’s 4x200 relay team.
Last season, Miller earned First Team All-Region for Region 2-AAAA as a member of the Locust Grove Wildcats.
With blazing speed, Skelton expects a big year from the senior.
“He[Miller] played incredible, shout to him,” Skelton said. “They won first place in the state in the 4x200. He is extremely fast. I just like how he has bought into our culture. I don't think he gets enough credit for how physical he plays. I think he has a chip on his shoulder so he played well today.”
On Newton’s first offensive play of the second half, Miller was on the receiving end of a trick play behind the line of scrimmage that saw the senior use his speed to go 75 yards for a touchdown.
Another name in the wide receive room is upcoming sophomore Devin Barber, who brought in a pair of touchdowns in the second half on Friday.
Barber, who stands at 6-foot-2,made a leaping grab over a Shiloh defensive back before he ran down the sideline for a score.
On the next offensive drive for Newton, Barber snagged a catch in the corner of the endzone to extend the lead to 54-0.
Along with Miller and Barber, upcoming senior Jaqwan Carr helps form a formidable trio that not only has the speed, but the size on the perimeter.
A glimpse of what’s to come
Newton handed the ball over to many underclassmen in the second half, such as Lumpkin and Barber.
However, incoming freshman quarterback Josiah Frazier made the most of his time in the second half.
The 5-foot-11 snapcaller threw for a pair of touchdowns in the spring game.
The first was a 55-yard bomb that landed in the hands of Barber over the top. The second was a perfectly-placed back shoulder throw to Barber in the corner of the endzone.
With Benson’s spot secured in 2025, Frazier has shown promise for what is to come in Newton’s passing game in the years after.
Rams defense with the shutout
It was a stout performance for the Rams’ defense on Friday as they held Shiloh scoreless on the road.
Even with the loss of seniors such as Zach Harden, Myles Dixon and Ryshawn Perry, Newton’s defense seemed to pick up right where it left off.
Perhaps the biggest play of the game for the unit came in the final seconds of the first half.
Upcoming junior Omarion Wallace made the heads up play of picking off the pass in the flat before going all the way in for a pick-six.
“The defense is always going to get after it,” Skelton said. “Shoutout to Omarion Wallace with a pick. [The] defensive line, a big shout out to our defensive staff. The defense is always going to play. We battled a lot of advisory — we had to replace a few people on the staff. They went on to get great jobs and we had to replace those guys. Those guys went on to do great things. It was a challenge for us and we came together to get the job done.”
There are many weeks left until the first week of the regular season, but Skelton has liked what he has seen so far from a team that has high hopes in 2025.
“The energy is great. I think everybody knows we have a lot to prove,” Skelton said. “There are a lot of people that assume we are going to be down and things of that nature. For us, we are just concerned with showing people we work hard. If we work hard then we can have the same results if we play to our standard.”
