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Published Wednesday, October 28, 2009 in Sports

Cougars look to clinch fourth-straight region title

By Tommy Camp

The Times-Herald

From the time Newnan High School joined the Georgia High School Association in 1948 until the 2006-07 football seasons, the Cougars/Tigers had never won back-to-back region championships.

Despite winning region titles in 1949, '51,'66, '77, '81 and '92, Newnan couldn't follow up with championships the following season.

Until 2006-07 that is, when Robert Herring's teams won back-to-back titles.

They added a third straight last year and Friday, when first-year coach Mike McDonald's club hosts Mundy's Mill in Drake Stadium, the Cougars can make it an historical four in a row.

No 4-AAAAA team or any of its earlier ancestors (4-AAAA, 6-AAAA) ever won four in a row.

Griffin captured three consecutive championships twice in the '80s and six over a seven-year period, but never four straight.

The Cougars have to like their chances.

Mundy's Mill is 1-7 overall and 1-6 in region play.

The Tigers' lone win came against winless Morrow three weeks ago by three points and broke what had been a 15-game losing skid dating to last year.

The Tigers have been more competitive this year. Last fall they allowed 30 or more points in eight of their 10 games. This year, they've given up 30 or more just twice.

Also, Mundy's Mill lost only by five to Riverdale, by 10 to Lovejoy and by two touchdowns to Chapel Hill, all improvements over last year's contests.

The Cougars' come in at 8-0 overall and 7-0 in 4-AAAAA and riding a 26-game regular season winning streak dating to the Carrollton game in 2007.

They haven't lost a region contest since, guess who, Mundy's Mill beat them at soggy Twelve Oaks Stadium late in the '06 campaign.

The Cougars seemingly haven't missed a beat after making the state semifinals last year.

Defensively Newnan leads all of Class AAAAA just as it did last year with its 3.5 points per game allowed average and only Class A Wesleyan, which has a 2.0 ppg allowed average, is better statewide having given up 18 points in nine games to Newnan's 28 in eight.

Newnan has five shutouts to its credit this fall and has now put together 10 consecutive quarters without allowing any points whatsoever.

The Cougar defense has not given up a touchdown in the second half all year.

Just for comparison sake, last year after eight games the Cougars had four shutouts to their credit (they finished with six in the regular season and added two more in the playoffs) and had given up the same number of points (28). Their consecutive quarter streak of not allowing a touchdown was at 11.

Offensively Newnan is scoring at a 33.5 points per game clip.

The Cougars have outscored their opponents 61-6 in the first quarter this fall, 112-13 in the second, 60-6 in the third and 35-3 in the fourth.

Newnan has scored points in 27 of the 32 quarters played so far and more than one touchdown in 12 of those periods.

The Cougars have led at halftime in all eight of their games and going into the fourth quarter in all eight as well.

They have been ahead in six of the eight after one quarter of play and tied in the other two, 0-0 at LaGrange and 6-6 against Creekside.

Only seven Newnan teams in school history have registered longer winning streaks than this year's team with its eight in a row and only four have won more consecutively from the start of the season.

Quarterback Lendell Arnold, who up until two days before the season opener against LaGrange was set to play at wide receiver, has been outstanding in directing the Cougars' spread offense.

He has run and/or passed for at least one touchdown in each of his team's first eight games.

His 63-yard touchdown run against Pebblebrook last week was the second longest of the year for Newnan behind his own 75-yarder against Lovejoy and the third longest over the last two years behind Kenadreas Wynn's 65-yard scamper against Riverdale last year.

He has thrown for eight touchdowns to six different receivers and scored five times rushing the ball.

Chris Robinson's scoring streak was halted at seven straight games last week at Pebblebrook when he was kept out of the end zone for the first time this season after scoring 13 TDs in Newnan's first seven games.

He came close , however, almost breaking a long touchdown run in the third quarter that ended up going 47 yards to set up the Cougars' final touchdown.

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