By Steve Swogetinsky/Special to The Star
NEWTON — Darryl Carter picked up his first victory as a head coach Friday as his Kemper County Wildcats took a 28-0 victory over Newton High School in prep football action.
Carter, who has been with the team for less than a month, said it’s just a matter of putting the players in the right place.
“We have put a lot of time into fundamentals and teaching the players how to play their position,” Carter said. “We watched the film from last year’s game and tried to line the kids up as best we could.
“I didn’t have any excuses when I came in. I just knew that it was going to be a lot of work. If we stay disciplined and keep learning, we are going to be okay.”
Most of the first half was a defensive slugfest as neither team could get anything going. The Wildcats drove deep into Newton High School’s territory twice in the first quarter but did not score.
Kemper County finally hit paydirt in the final minute of the second quarter when Tevin Roberts ran in from eight yards out. LaColtan Bester passed for the two-point conversion but the play was called back because of penalty. The second attempt failed and Kemper County led 6-0 with 50 seconds left in the first half.
Kemper County had 50 yards in penalties in the first half and 55 for the game.
The Wildcats struck again on its second possession of the third quarter when David Grace scored on a 10-yard run. The try for two failed and Kemper County led 12-0 with 7:30 left in the third quarter.
Bester opened the fourth quarter with an eight-yard TD run, Bester scored the two-point conversion and the Wildcats led 20-0 with 11:51 left in the game.
Five plays later, Grace intercepted a Newton High pass and returned it 50-plus yards for an apparent touchdown. But a penalty nullified the score and Kemper County took over on its 45-yard line.
The Wildcat drove ball in for a touchdown in five plays with Roberts scoring his second touchdown of the night on a 16-yard run. Roberts scored the two-point conversion to end the scoring.
Kemper County had 192 yards rushing and 15 yards passing for 207 total yards. Newton High had 21 yards rushing and 102 yards passing for 132 total yards.
Roberts was Kemper County’s leading rusher with 107 yards on 15 rushes. Bester rushed five times for 32 yards and completed three passes for 15 markers.
The Wildcats host Nanih Waiya next Friday, while Newton High hosts Bay Springs.
