Newcastle football team loses to Cache, 45-13

The Newcastle Racers football team lost to the Cache Bulldogs, 45-13, last Thursday night at Racer Stadium. The Racers are now 1-6 overall on the year and 1-3 in district play.

The Racers were coming off their first victory of the season the week before – a 35-28 win at Chickasha. In that game, Newcastle posted its biggest point total of the season and kept the Chicks at bay for most of the evening.

Against Cache, it seemed as though the Racers reverted back to some old habits. The Bulldogs, though, are a stout group of players. Cache improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in district play.

The Bulldogs were just 5-5 last year under head coach John Herbert and missed the playoffs. In fact, Cache was one of Newcastle’s three victories a year ago as the Racers beat the ‘Dogs, 41-23.

Last Thursday was a different story, though. The Bulldogs seemed to manhandle the Racers on the gridiron at times. But, according to Newcastle head coach Jeff Brick-man, the Racers showed several signs of improvement against an experienced team.

“They were led by several experienced players who were mostly seniors,” said Brick-man, who has often noted how young his team is. “They are a very good team.”

Brickman had praise for his Racers defense.

“Other than one play, the defense played very well and it was one of our better games,” Brickman said. “Cache scored on an interception return, a fake punt, a fumble recovery on our 1-yard line, and a safety. So, a total of 23 of their 45 points were from non-offensive scores. Our defense gave up 22 points.”

Cade Thompson caught a slant pass from quarterback Andrew Shumard for a Racer touchdown. Wade Sharp caught the other Newcastle touchdown from quarterback Chase Fox.

Thompson, a senior, now has 184 yards receiving and four touchdowns on 10 receptions for the year. Shumard (a sophomore) is 67-for-114 passing for 694 yards and four touchdowns on the season.

Fox (a sophomore) is 35-for-61 passing for 393 yards and four scores. Junior Jake Cox leads the Racers in receiving overall with 364 yards on 39 catches. Cox has also ›scored two touchdowns.

Solomon Granger (a junior) is the Racers’ leading rusher with 457 yards on 98 carries. He has scored twice from the backfield this season.

The Racers will host the Elk City Elks on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Racer Stadium. Elk City