Playoffs Bound

Click to view image

COVINGTON - Never say that Newton coach Nick Collins isn't a man of his word.

Collins told the boosters when he started that in his fourth year they would be in the playoffs. That's exactly what happened when his team beat Luella 25-7 on Friday at Homer Sharp Stadium to give the Rams a No. 4 seed in Region 2-AAAAA.

"One of the parents reminded me earlier this week that on our first meeting, I told them that this year we would be in the playoffs. You couldn't put any more pressure on me at that point," Collins said. "Thank God we're here."

For the first time in seven years, the Rams will be in postseason play when they head south to Camden County on Friday in the first round of the Class AAAAA playoffs.

Even though Collins and his coaching staff did the X's and O's, it was up to the players to make it happen. One player who made it happen was junior quarterback Tyree Williams, completing 11 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for another 25 yards.

However, his real contribution came with his ability to scramble and find open receivers. His only blemish was the two interceptions. One came on the Lions' 11-yard line and the other to a receiver that was triple covered.

"He moved like I've never seen him move," Collins said. "Once again it was one of those situations where he was making plays and he took a chance. You can't fault him for that. You wish he had made a different decision, but he was trying to make a play."

Helping put the game away was Sammy Merchant, who carried the ball six times for 31 yards and one touchdown, all in the fourth quarter.

"We felt like we needed an extra push. We needed somebody that could get us downhill, and Sammy is a tough inside runner. He did a good job of pounding the football in there. He's so small you can't see him all the time," Collins said.

The Rams stopped themselves on their opening drive but were able to get the ball back after a punt on their 33-yard line when Ryan Ford intercepted Kyle Dickey's pass on Luella's first play on offense.

The Rams were able to take advantage of their second chance when Williams, who was a perfect 3-for-3 on the drive, found Cadarius Terrell for a touchdown with 2:13 left in the first period.

Luella responded quickly with a touchdown of its own when Edward Irby busted a 70-yard run up the middle as the Lions took a 7-6 lead with 1:56 remaining.

After the long run, Newton's defense settled down, keeping the Lions off the scoreboard until the final minute of the game.

Jamal Hunte put the Rams in position to take the lead before halftime after blocking Grant Palmer's punt. However, an interception on the Newton 11 eight plays later ended the threat.

Williams ended the first half 8 of 13 for 87 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Williams' percentage could have been higher if not for two dropped passes by open receivers.

"It happens. You see it at every level. We caught some and we dropped some. But to drop those with wide open receivers was tough. But then again it's just part of the game," Collins said.

On the second play of the second half, Antonio Williams stripped the ball from the Luella ball carrier and ran it back 25 yards for a Rams touchdown to give Newton a 12-7 edge.

"We were ready to play, but it's hard to judge these guys sometimes. We weren't giving it the extra effort I thought we should give. We talked about it at halftime and said that if you want to play past tonight, it can't be your A game, it has to be your A-plus game," Collins said. "I thought the guys accepted the challenge and stepped up."

With 10:25 left in the game, Sammy Merchant took the ball to the end zone with an 18-yard run to put Newton up 18-7.

The Rams shut the door on any realistic hope of a Luella comeback with Akeem Hunt's 15-yard TD run with 3:52 left in the game to make it 25-7.

Luella scored with 49 seconds left on a 12-yard run by Ladarius Spikes.