Newcastle beats Altus, 49-14; next up is trip to play Pryor
Newcastle (8-3) opened post-season play with a win against the Altus Bulldogs Friday night, spurred on by an “electric” home field crowd, according to Head Coach Jeff Brickman.
The Racers scored 21 points each in the first and second quarters while holding Altus to only seven a piece in the first and third. The 4214 score going into halftime was enough for the win, but the Racers would add another seven points in the third quarter for the game-winning total of 49-14.
Brickman said the offense averaged 7.8 yards per play, and scored on both the ground and in the air.
The defense forced four turnovers, one on a sack with a fumble and three on interceptions.
Brickman said the first half was full of big plays on both offense and defense, and there were several Newcastle players who made big impacts on the game performance.
Taylor (TJ) Bradford was again named the game’s Most Valuable Player. He has had seven this year. Bradford is nearing 1,400 yards rushing on the year (as he has had in the past two seasons), and he may attain 5,000 yards for his high school career at Newcastle.
He is averaging 129-yards per game, and also plays on defense full-time where he has recorded 77 tackles.
Offensive Player of the Game was Blake Creswell, while Defensive Player of the Game was Kaden Longman. Special Teams Player of the Game went to Max Heskew, Landin Judkins earned the Scout Team award. Longman also had the Hammer award, and Garrett Pratt had the Knockdowns award with 10.
Offensively, the Racers had 55 plays for 427 yards. They passed 10/16 for 168 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing 38 times for 259 yards and four touchdowns. Newcastle special teams went 7/7 on extra points.
On defense, the Racers had 70 plays, allowing 408 yards. Altus went 21/37 passing for 196 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. They had 32 rushing attempts for 212 yards, one touchdown, and one fumble lost.
The Racers will travel to Pryor for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday against the Tigers.
“They are well-coached and we are looking forward to this week’s process of preparation,” Brickman said. “We hope to have a big crowd come out to Pryor to cheer us on.”
Pryor is 11-0 on the year with their latest win coming in their opening round of playoffs against Bishop Kelley, 4636.
