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Published Tuesday, November 17, 2009 in Sports

MLK to test Newnan's perfect record

By Tommy Camp

The Newnan Times-Herald

The Newnan Cougars advanced to the second round of the state Class AAAAA playoffs for the third time in three years with their 28-9 win over Valdosta at Drake Stadium last Friday in the opening round of the post season.

The M.L. King Lions (10-1), the second seeded team out of Region 2-AAAAA, come to Newnan (11-0) for the first time ever this Friday for the sudden death showdown.

The winner moves on to next week's state quarterfinals to face the winner of the Roswell at Grayson game.

MLK finished second behind Stephenson in Region 2, dropping its only game of the year to the Jaguars, 20-0, in game seven of the regular season.

Since then the Lions have shutout their last four opponents including putting a 35-0 blank job on Jenkins of Savannah last week in the first round of the playoffs.

Newnan's win in the first round of the postseason was its 11th straight and the Cougars' first ever over Valdosta in only the second meeting between the two schools.

That 11-game winning streak ties this year's team with the 1992 squad for the second longest in Newnan history behind last year's team that won 13 in a row.

Those three Cougars teams are the only three in NHS history to be 11-0 at this point in the season.

The 11 wins are the third most ever in one season for a Newnan team (consecutively or not), a number also garnered by the 2007 and '92 Cougars. The record for most wins in one year is 13, set in 1981 and tied last year with the 2003 team in second place on the all-time list with 12 victories.

The Cougars rallied against Valdosta in the second half, scoring 21 unanswered points to remain undefeated.

Trailing 9-7 at halftime, the first time all year Newnan had been behind at the break, the Cougars forged ahead with two touchdowns in the third quarter over a four-minute span and added a final tally in the fourth period.

With 29 points in the second half against East Coweta, the Cougars have now scored 50 in the third and fourth quarters of their last two games.

Quarterback Lendell Arnold passed for two touchdowns and ran for another against Valdosta, upping his season totals to 14 through the air and six on the ground, with at least one in each of Newnan's 11 games.

His eight-yard pass to Zander Ogletree in the first quarter marked the 10th straight time Newnan has scored in the opening period this year and the eighth time the Cougars have scored first.

After failing to put points on the board in the second quarter for the first time all year (Newnan had outscored its opponents 140-19 in the second period going into the Valdosta game), Arnold added a one-yard quarterback sneak and a 19-yard pass to Jamal Ransby to put Newnan up 21-9 going to the fourth quarter.

It was the 16th time this year Newnan has scored two or more touchdowns in one quarter.

Nick Hill dashed 53 yards in the fourth quarter to finish off the scoring, his seventh touchdown of the year and second longest TD run of the season behind his county-longest 90-yard sprint against Mundy's Mill.

Ransby's touchdown catch was his second TD reception of the year to go with his two punt return scores, one in each of the first two games of the season.

The Newnan defense didn't allow a touchdown from scrimmage against Valdosta, the seventh time this year they have accomplished that feat.

The Cougars have five shutouts to their credit while LaGrange managed 15 points on three field goals and an interception return.

Valdosta had an 88-yard kickoff return in the first quarter and a 37-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the second.

The Cougars stopped Valdosta on two critical fourth down tries in the second quarter while clinging to a 7-6 lead, the first on fourth and four at the Cougar 33 and the second on fourth and goal from the two.

Newnan also stopped the Wildcats on downs at the Cougar 30 in the fourth quarter when leading 21-9.

The Cougars had two key interceptions Friday.

Ransby picked off a first quarter pass at the Newnan 25 on Valdosta's initial possession of the night and Alec Ogletree stole one in the fourth quarter at the Newnan 30 and his return set up Hill's touchdown run on the next play.

The win over Valdosta was the third straight over a Region 1-AAAAA opponent in the last three years. Newnan beat Tift County last year and Coffee the year before, both in the second round of the playoffs.

Since beginning its four straight region championship run in 2006, Newnan has gone 42-7 overall and 36-4 during the regular season.

Over the last three years, the Cougars are 29-1 in the regular season and 35-3 overall, by far the best three-year run of success ever in Newnan history.

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Here is a year-by-year breakdown of Newnan's postseason record since the Georgia High School Association initiated the playoff system in 1948:

2009 - Valdosta W28-9.

2008 - Johnson W55-0; Tift Co. W42-0; North Gwinnett W20-3; Camden Co. L7-27.

2007 - Redan W17-6; Coffee W28-25; North Gwinnett (Tara Stadium) L35-38.

2006 - Houston Co. L21-35.

2005 - At Camden Co. L0-50.

2004 - At Stephenson L0-6.

2003 - Colquitt Co. W21-14; At Northside Warner Robins W24-0; At Parkview W20-14; Camden Co. (Georgia Dome) L10-20.

1999 - At Warner Robins - L7-31.

1992 - Morrow W33-7; Colquitt Co. L15-28.

1991 - At Griffin W35-26; At Bradwell Institute L16-21.

1989 - Morrow L17-20.

1985 - Riverdale W 47-21; LaGrange L7-21.

1984 - Morrow W14-0; At Griffin L21-35.

1983 - Morrow - L14-20.

1982 - At LaGrange L7-10.

1981 - Morrow W27-8; At LaGrange W21-0; At Douglas Co. W22-21; At Peachtree W 35-21; Warner Robins L0-21.

1978 - Morrow W18-6; At Griffin L6-20.

1977 - R.E. Lee W8-7; At Clarke Central L7-14.

1975 - Griffin - L0-21.

1966 - North Fulton L6-47.

1960 -Westminster (At Headland) L6-20.

1951 -Gainesville (At Griffin) W12-7; Valdosta (At Albany) L9-14.

1949 - West Point W7-6; Elijay (At Atlanta) W24-6; Cook Co. (At Albany) L7-19.

Overall playoff record 22-23. Home 14-9 (13-9 at Drake Stadium, 1-0 at Pickett Field); Away 6-9; Neutral 2-5; First round games 13-11.

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