Cougars get past Carthage

By By Robbie Robertson/EMG sports writer
October 18, 2003
DECATUR Newton County senior Adam Williams was burned twice in the first half by the Carthage Tigers.
But when it counted, Williams turned the Tigers back.
Williams' interception with 58.6 seconds remaining secured a 29-21 victory for the Cougars over 5-3A foe Carthage Friday night.
play when you need it."
And for the Cougars, it was huge. With the win, the Cougars won their third straight and evened their record at 4-4 and 3-1 in 5-3A play. Coupled with a West Lauderdale loss to Forest and the Newton County is in a three-way tie for first in the division they have won four straight years.
While Williams' play was the game clincher, it was Newton County's offense that won the game for the Cougars. The offense rolled up 367 yards of total offense with 328 coming on the ground. The Cougars also had two 100-yard rushers as senior fullback John Kidd had a career-best 126 yards on
24 carries. Duke Hudnall had his third straight 100-yard game with 125 yards on 20 carries.
Things didn't start out well for the Cougars. On the game's first play, Carthage quarterback Shawn Tingle hit tight end Henry Towner on a short
gainer that turned into an 80-yard touchdown with 11:38 left in the first. The PAT failed and Carthage led 6-0.
The Cougars responded with a commanding 5-play, 54-yard drive that ended with Hudnall going in from 23 yards with 9:26 left in the first. Tommy Strange's PAT gave Newton County a 7-6 lead.
After Carthage missed a 22-yard field goal, Newton County went on a 13-yard drive that covered 80 yards, mainly behind the running of Kidd and
Hudnall. Colby Amis capped off the drive with a 12-yard keeper with 11:53 left in the second. Strange's PAT gave the Cougars a 14-6 lead.
But before Newton County could catch its breath, Carthage fired back as Tangle found Towner again on a big gainer. This one went 59 yards for the score with 10:50 left in the half. Tangle hit Cody Langston on the 2-point conversion to tie the score at 14-14.
Again, the Newton County offense controlled the line as the Cougars went on another solid drive, going 67 yards in nine plays. Willie Windham capped off the drive on a 1-yard dive with 7:07 left in the half for a 21-14 Newton County lead.
Carthage moved the ball inside the Newton County 15 but Kennard Johnson intercepted a Tangle pass to stall the drive.
The scoring slowed down in the second half as both defenses stiffened. Newton County's David Windham had a fumble recovery to stop one Carthage drive.
The Tigers made things interesting in the fourth as they put together a 12-play, 57-yard drive that was capped off by a Jerry Triplett 1-yard run with 6:33 left in the game. Joseph Atkinson's PAT was good to tie the game at 21-21.
That's when the Cougars turned to Hudnall. The Cougars proceeded to go on a 13-play, 69-yard drive. After Hudnall broke a 26-yard run, Kidd bulled in from a yard out with 1:16 left in the game. After a Carthage penalty, Kidd ran in the 2-point conversion for the final score.
And the kids are buying into the system. They've really played hard the last three weeks."
Carthage finished with 365 yards of total offense and 14 first downs with 251 coming through the air as Tangle was 8-of-15 passing. Towner had six catches for 213 yards.