Racers nab first win of season

The Newcastle Racers football team won their first game of the 2018 season last week, defeating the Chickasha Fighting Chicks, 35-28, last Friday night at Chickasha.

“I was happy for the kids,” said Newcastle head coach Jeff Brickman, whose team upped its record to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in district play.. “They work very hard.”

Indeed, the Racers deserved a hard-earned victory after a rough 0-5 start which saw their opponents outscore them, 210-69. Last week, Newcastle reversed courses and took off.

The Racers were up, 21-14, at halftime. They had some close calls. But, in the end, all that mattered was that Newcastle came away with a victory.

Brickman said he and the coaching staff decided to let the older members of the squad address the team at halftime.

“ We decided to let the captains talk to the team, instead of the coaches, to motivate them,” Brickman said. “I think it worked.”

Among the heroes of last Friday’s victory was Jake Cox, a junior who caught eight passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. Cade Thompson (a senior) caught both passes thrown his way for touchdowns. He ended the evening with 74 yards – including a nifty 64-yard TD reception.

In the quarterback department, Andrew Shumard completed 8-of-13 passes for 69 yards and a score. Chase Fox (like Shumard a sophomore) completed 8-of-10 for 134 yards and two touchdowns.

Oddly enough, Chickasha outgained Newcastle in total yards, 446 to 437. The Chicks had an awesome 1-2 punch in the backfield with juniors Hasian Burdex and Austin Albright. Both scored two touchdowns during the contest.

Burdex had a whopping 211 yards on 18 carries while Albright had 104 yards on 11 carries. Solomon Granger was Newcastle’s leading rusher for the evening with 69 yards on 13 carries.

Cox is getting better each game, according to Brickman.

“Jake is the fastest player on the team,” Brickman said. “We try to come up with multiple plays and ways to get him the ball. He is a fine player.”

Next up for Newcastle is Cache at 7 p.m. today (Thurs., ›Oct. 11) at home. The Bulldogs are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in district play. They will be tough.

Last year, the ‘Dogs lost to the Racers, 41-23, and Newcastle is 6-3 all-time against them. This year, though, it looks like Cache is serious about its business.

“Cache is a good team,” Brickman said. “They are very creative offensively, run to the ball defensively, and have a strong kicking game. We will have to play a great game to beat them.”

“We decided to let the captains talk to the team, instead of the coaches, to motivate them,” Brickman said. “I think it worked.”