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Published Saturday, November 01, 2008

Newnan-East Coweta to play for region title: So what else is new?

Newnan and East Coweta will play for the Region 4-AAAAA championship this Friday night in Sharpsburg.

So what else is new?

This is the third straight year that the two teams have played for the region title in the final game of the regular season.

Newnan came out on top in '06 and last year, winning its first ever back-to-back region championships in school history in the process.

Can the Cougars make it three in a row?

No team in Newnan and EC's league has won three straight region championships since Griffin did it in 1978-80.

The Cougar-Indian rivalry is intense enough without championships riding on the outcome.

Even if both teams were 0-9, the game would still be vitally important to each.

But with the added luster of a region championship hanging in the balance, the meeting takes on even more significance.

But there's something else this year.

Newnan coach Robert Herring has won 299 victories over his long coaching career.

Don't you know he would love to notch number 300 against his team's most bitter rival and in a game that would give his team its third straight region championship.

On the other side, East Coweta is trying to break a five-game losing streak to Newnan and begin reestablishing dominance in the series it once ruled.

Remember, the Indians once beat Newnan 10 straight times after losing the very first game in the series back in 1992.

Also, a win over Newnan would give the Indians their first region title since 2001, upset Newnan's apple cart hopes of another championship and an undefeated regular season and give first-year coach Clint Wade the rare distinction of winning a region title in his first year on the job, something that hasn't been done locally since Max Bass did it at Newnan in 1966.

So, who has the advantage going in?

Newnan has been overpowering in its first nine games, outscoring its opposition 377-28.

The Cougars' closest call was their 21-point win over LaGrange in the season opener. No opponent has come closer than 32 points since.

East Coweta has been impressive as well, winning seven of nine games with its only region loss coming to Chapel Hill which rallied with a 13-point fourth quarter to do it.

Both teams have obviously played the same eight region opponents.

It's dangerous business to compare scores, but Newnan would appear to have the upper hand based solely on those numbers.

Let's look at the seven "victims."

Lovejoy - Newnan 55-6 (home), East Coweta 27-0 (home).

Morrow: Newnan 52-0 (home), East Coweta 40-0 (home).

Creekside: Newnan 33-0 (away), East Coweta 28-21 (home).

Riverdale: Newnan 44-9 ((away), East Coweta 41-34 (away).

Westlake: Newnan 43-0 (home), East Coweta 10-0 (away).

Pebblebrook: Newnan 35-0 (home), East Coweta 30-13 (away).

Mundy's Mill: Newnan 49-0 (home), East Coweta 34-0 (home).

And the one game the two split: Chapel Hill: Newnan 35-3 (away), East Coweta 7-13 (away).

That doesn't really tell us anything other than how each performed against those opponents on a given night.

Newnan has outscored those eight common opponents, 346-18 while East Coweta outscored them, 217-81, a 129-63 advantage for the Cougars.

Does that mean Newnan is that much better than EC?

No. All it tells us is scores. Numbers.

Stuff on paper.

And rivalry games are always so much more than just numbers and statistics.

So it all boils down to the truth that in a rivalry game anything can happen.

There is no favorite going in. Either could win big, or closely.

And just like the previous two meetings, I really have no idea who will come out on top.

Is that being evasive? You bet. Also, it doesn't really matter what's happened before, or what's on paper or, for that matter, what any of us think, does it?

That's why they play the games.

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