After an undefeated regular season and heartbreaking loss in the playoffs, Newton County coach Bobby Bass made some changes this offseason.

Bass said the two main changes are on offense and with the schedule.

“We are going to play a little differently than we have in the past,” Bass said. “We are going to play faster and try to go up-tempo in certain situations. We are really going to focus on it in our practices. We will put it in the air more than we have in the past. It’s going to be different.”

And Bass also looked to toughen the non-division portion of his schedule this season.

“There are definitely some tests to start the season,” Bass said. “West has a chance to win the North in 4A, and Raleigh has a chance to win 3A. Scott Central should win 2A, and Union has two Division-I kids and is a 3A contender. I intentionally made the schedule stronger. If we are going to get to where we need to be, we have to play a stronger schedule.”

On offense, the Cougars have plenty to replace in the backfield. Junior Grey Hale is expected to start at quarterback, while Colin Crowder will be the backup. At running back, Devon May (1,657 yards rushing in 2020) will try to fill the void left by the graduation of Carlois Walker, who rushed for 1,786 yards and 20 TDs last season. May will also split carries with Kamari Brown and LT Phillips. At H-back and tight end is Cameron Dukes. At wide receiver, Tyron Henderson, Sebastian Johnson, Graham Lewis, Koye Hardaway and Colin Crowder will all rotate.

On the offensive line, the Cougars return three starters as Greer Billy will be at left tackle and Drew Stevens will play left guard. Charlie Carmichael will man center, while Holder Usry returns at right guard and Dominique Denson returns at right tackle. Senior Hunter Hennington is also expected to see some playing time up front.

“We lost several guys who had been starting for a couple of years on offense. But we have some guys back with experience,” Bass said. “They will have to do a lot of growing up. But I think we will be able to take what the defense gives us. If teams are going to put eight in the box, we are going to throw the football.”

On defense, the Cougars lost four starters and return seven. Leading the way is two-time Elite 11 and All-State linebacker Colin Crowder, who has tallied 100 plus tackles the last two years. Joining Crowder at linebacker will be Tylan McNichols and Caleb Pakman. Also expected to get reps will be Wilson Jackson, Will Hillman and Bobby Little.

On the defense line, Cameron Jackson, Jarvis Tucker, Jamario Ickom and LT Phillips are expected to get the majority of playing time while LJ Cole, Holder Usry, Drew Stevens and Greer Billy will also see playing time.

In the secondary, Tyron Henderson and Gray Hale will be the cornerbacks, while Kamari Brown and Koye Hardaway will be the safeties. Josh Blaylock and Bishop Tillman will also see playing time.

“We have a lot coming back on defense,” Bass said. “We have a lot of veteran guys but also have a lot of two-way players. We have 12 players back that have played. And I feel like we have a chance to be good on defense with Colin. Losing Miguel (Evans) hurts, but we feel like Tylan McNichols will be able to move down and take that spot.”

In the kicking game, Bass said there is a strong competition between Graham Lewis and Cade Mangum to replace All-State kicker Lee Hill. Bass said he hopes that the two can handle all kicking and punting duties. Wilson Jackson will be the long snapper. 

“The first thing we need to do is shore up our special teams,” Bass said. “We lost an All-State kicker and have two guys vying for that spot. Both of them are really good soccer players. That’s a big question mark for us. Special teams are very important to us. It can win you some games and can lose you games if it isn’t solid. That will be our first focus heading into the fall with getting that personnel situated.”

The Cougars will try to go back-to-back as division champions and will compete against Mendenhall, Quitman, Northeast Jones and Richland.

“I think it will be a solid district,” Bass said. “I am hearing a lot of good things out of Mendenhall and Quitman, and I’m sure they will be ready to go and better this season. Northeast Jones is in the second year running the Wing T, and they looked a lot better this spring.”

The Cougars will open the regular season on Aug. 27 as they host rival West Lauderdale, a team many consider as a top contender in 4A. Other non-division opponents include Raleigh, Scott Central, Union and Sumrall.

SCHEDULE

Aug. 27 — West Lauderdale

Sept. 3 — at Raleigh

Sept. 10 — Scott Central

Sept. 17 — at Union

Sept. 24 — Sumrall

Oct. 1 — at Richland

Oct. 8 — Mendenhall

Oct. 15 — at Northeast Jones

Oct. 22 — Quitman

Oct. 29 — open