Philly blows by Newton
By By Robbie Robertson / special to The Star
Oct. 2, 2004
NEWTON Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson once said, "Everybody's got a game plan until they get hit in the mouth one time."
That must be how Newton coach Pepper Posey felt Friday night.
After jumping ahead 6-0 on 5-2A rival Philadelphia, Posey watched the Tornadoes roll up 373 yards rushing and 18 first downs en route to a 50-24 win over the Tigers at E.L. Morgan Field.
After seeing Forest bombard the Tornado defense last week through the air, Posey thought his team could do the same. They did with 311 yards passing but two interception returns for touchdowns and minus 11 yards rushing spelled the Tigers' doom.
The Tornadoes got a huge night out of senior running back Talmer Burnside who rushed for 207 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries.
Newton, now 1-5 on the year, surprised Philadelphia early when Courtney Ruffin passed backwards to Montez Moore who threw to a wide open Jamie Ruffin for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 8:30 left in the first quarter. The PAT failed and Newton led 6-0.
That lead didn't last long as Burnside broke loose on the first play of the ensuing drive for a 55-yard touchdown. Beck Turner's PAT gave Philadelphia the lead for good at 7-6.
After turning the ball over on downs, Philadelphia used its mammoth offensive line to dominate the undersized Newton front. The Tornadoes drove 80 yards in seven plays with Jeremy Holmes scoring on a 27-yard reverse with 1:41 left in the first. Turner's PAT made it 14-6.
Two plays later, Ruffin was intercepted by Philadelphia's Darrin McBeath who raced 40 yards to make the score 21-6 with 57 seconds left in the first. Burnside added a 3-yard run in the second as Philadelphia led 27-6 at the half.
Newton rallied in the third period to make it exciting as Ruffin hooked up with Moore on touchdown passes of six and 45 yards to cut the score to
27-18 with 7:08 left in the third.
Then the bottom fell out for Newton as Philadelphia (5-1) scored on a 7-play, 54-yard drive with Burnside scoring from 3 yards out with 3:30 left in the third to make the score 35-17. Then Philadelphia got another interception return for a score as David Beckett took a Ruffin pass for 40 yards with 2:16 left in the third to make the score 41-18.
Burnside added a 3-yard run with 10:42 in the fourth and Turner booted a 28-yard field goal for Philadelphia's final points.
Newton's final points came on a 27-yard pass to Moore with 2:16 left in the game.
On the night, Philadelphia had 437 yards total offense with 18 first downs while Newton had 300 yards and 14 first downs.
