ORANGEFIELD — Newton’s penchant for big plays and Orangefield’s untimely miscues were the difference in Friday’s loss to the Eagles.

The No. 2 state-ranked Newton Eagles used a slew of big plays and capitalized on mistakes by the Bobcats to coast to 40-14 victory over Orangefield on Friday night.

The Eagles turned a close game at halftime into a overwhelming victory as the Newton offense chalked up 385 yards on the ground. Running back Kevin Shorter carried the bulk of the load for the Eagles with 19 carries for 177 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bobcats (0-3) led 14-8 at the end of the first quarter thanks to a gritty 3 -yard run by Dustin Verrett and a 76-yard burst from quarterback Eric Truncale immediately following a 50-yard punt return for a touchdown by Newton’s Dale Dean.

Newton (3-0) quickly jumped back out in front with a 6-yard run from Brandon Johnson, who finished with 119 yards on 21 carries, and a 32-yard dash from Shorter put the Eagles back in front, 20-14, with 4 minutes left in the half.

Orangefield’s tandem of Truncale, Verrett and running back Carl Wiley chewed up the yards as the Bobcats kept the Eagles on their heels as time ticked off the clock in the second quarter. However, the drive came to a screeching halt when Truncale made a magnificent run to the Newton 10 only to have the ball knocked loose and the Eagles recovered.

“It was the same old song and dance for us,” said Coach Josh Smalley following the game. “We can’t overcome penalties and turnovers. We’re not a good enough team to overcome those kinds of mistakes against a team like Newton. I’m proud of our kids and how they performed, but you can’t make those kinds of mistakes and expect to win.”

The game was a tale of two halves with Orangefield giving the Eagles everything they could handle in the first-half, and then inadvertent turnovers and penalties keeping the Bobcats offense on its own side of the field for most of the second-half.

“We’ve been a good second-half team so far this season, but we wanted to focus on being a better first-half team,” Smalley added. “We won the first 12-minutes of the game. And for two-and-a-half quarters, we were right there with them.”

Orangefield tried valiantly to stand toe-to-toe with Newton but seemed to come up short when it mattered most.

The Bobcats attempted a fake punt on fourth and five during the second quarter, but Tyron Como was stopped short after gaining four yards.

Still trailing 20-14 late in the third quarter, the Bobcats could not capitalize on a fourth and two as Truncale was stopped in the backfield. Newton then retaliated with a 44-yard burst from Shorter to extend the lead to 27-14.

“We feel like we can move the ball on anybody,” Smalley said. “We wanted to go right at them, and we did. They stopped the run up the middle, so we started making plays to the outside. I’m proud of how these kids played tonight.

“These three (non-district) games against East Chambers, Jasper and Newton are going to help get us ready for district,” Smalley said. “And we will be ready.”

The Bobcats will play host to Beaumont Kelly next week.



Newton 40

Orangefield 14





New     8    12     7  13 — 40

OF    14     0     0     0 — 14



Scoring summary

OF - Dustin Verrett 3 yard run. Kick failed. 7:20

New - Dean Dale 50 yard punt return. Dale run. 2:12

OF - Eric Truncale 76 yard run. Carl Wiley run. 1:51

New - Brandon Johnson 6 yard run. Run failed. 8:50

New - Kevin Shorter 32 yard run. Pass failed. 4:00

New - Shorter 44 yard run. Jace Thomas kick. 0:20

New - Shorter 4 yard run. Run failed. 6:27

New - Dean 54 yard run. Thomas kick. 3:08



———

                  OF       New

First downs     9              14

Rushes-yards    39-260      55-385

Passing          7          27

Comp-Att-Int    2-4-1     3-9-0

Fumbles-Lost    3-2          1-1

Penalties-yards 2-15    4-40



INDIVIDUAL STATS

Rushing: Newton - Kevin Shorter 19-177, Brandon Johnson 21-119, Dale Dean 9-81, Jace Thomas 3-5, Troy Peagues 2-3, Roney Elam 1-0; Orangefield - Eric Truncale 11-134, Carl Wiley 14-47, Dustin Verrett 6-27, Carmichael Wiley 2-24, Colby Choate 2-16, Tyron Como 4-12.

Passing: Newton - Dale Dean 3-9-0 27, Elam 0-0-0 0; Orangefield - Eric Truncale 2-4-1 7.

Receiving: Newton - Jace Thomas 2-17, Kevin Shorter 1-10; Orangefield - Levi Shores 1-8, Carmichael Wiley 1-(-1).