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Published Friday, October 30, 2009 in Sports

Newnan continues streak of region titles with victory

By Stuart Crosby

The Times-Herald

The Newnan Cougars took care of business Friday night by winning their fourth consecutive Region 4-AAAAA championship after dominating the Mundy's Mill Tigers 42-7 at Drake Stadium.

"It feels great to win a fourth championship and get that number one seed," Cougars head coach Mike McDonald said. "The only thing that this group of seniors have known since they have been here is winning a region championship."

The scoring didn't take long as the Cougars needed seven plays and 80 yards before Nick Hill scored on a three-yard run with 9:47 remaining in the first quarter.

On the drive, Hill accounted for three carries for 41 yards and a pass reception for nine yards.

After each team exchanged possessions, the Cougars were forced to start play at their own 10 yard line after a penalty but they didn't seem fazed as Hill ran through the middle of the Tigers defense then ran to his left for a 90-yard touchdown with 5:23 remaining.

The touchdown run by Hill was the longest from scrimmage this season by the Cougars since a 75-yard run by Arnold against the Lovejoy Wildcats earlier in the campaign.

"We wanted to come out and stay focused and be able to get after them early," McDonald said. "The kids were able to set a good tempo and maintain it."

Both teams struggled the remainder of the quarter on offense as the Cougars committed a turnover on a pitch that was mishandled while Tigers quarterback Jeff LeClerc was sacked on consecutive downs.

The Cougars would take over after a put at their own 11 yard line with Zach Farmer taking over at quarterback during the drive that would go into the second quarter.

After a three-yard run by Hill, Farmer connected four different receivers including Zander Ogletree with two receptions for 33 yards and three to Thad Johnson for 48 yards.

The 12-play, 89 yard drive would come to an end when Bryant Ball powered his way through the Tigers' defense for a two-yard touchdown run with 9:37 remaining in the second quarter.

After a three-and-out by the Tigers, the Cougars took over at midfield with Arnold returning to the quarterback position where he ran three keepers for a total of 27 yards, but the big play of the nine-play drive was a 23-yard touchdown pass to Alec Ogletree with 5:08 left in the first half.

On the ensuing series, the Tigers would record their second first down of the half as LeClerc hit Marcus Gilliam with a 13-yard pass but a fumble recovery by Alec Ogletree on the play would give the Cougars possession at midfield with 3:33 remaining in the half.

Newnan would get to the Mundy's Mill 33 yard line with a third-and-nine when the duo of Arnold and Alec Ogletree would meet again on a touchdown pass with 1:45 remaining and after Patrick McAlpin converted his fifth extra point of the first half, the Cougars would take a 35-0 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Tigers started at their own 15 and had another three-and-out forcing a punt by George Manumba that Jamal Ransby returned 43 yards to the Tigers two yard line and one play later Ball picked up his second touchdown of the night with a fullback dive.

At that point, the Cougars began massive substitutions including placekicker as Jake Oldham took over for McAlpin and converted his only extra point attempt of the evening.

The Cougars reserves had an opportunity to get into the scoring column on the next series as runs by Antonio Benton and Marcus Tenney moved the ball from midfield to the Tigers' 10 yard line but the drive would end on a fumble that was recovered by the Tigers with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter.

The Tigers were unable to move the ball on the ensuing series, but the next drive would pay dividends as a 49 yard run by Nikos Jackson led to a touchdown on the next play as Joseph Marable run to his left for a 26-yard score with 5:27 left and the extra point by Manumba would end the scoring for the evening.

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