COVINGTON, Ga. — Newton and Eastside’s defensive units proved why neither of them allowed a single point heading into Friday night. Points were scarce for most of the contest, but the Rams’ offense ultimately broke through for a 41-7 victory. 

Newton put together a 29-point second half to pull away. 

Starting off the second half fireworks was junior tailback Zion Johnson in the closing minutes of the third quarter. Johnson found real estate down the left sideline. Once he made a defender miss, the junior proceeded to the end zone for the touchdown. 

A few plays later, Ephraim Wright gave the Rams the ball back with an interception. 

Deron Benson connected with Malik Brightwell to finish off that drive that carried over to the fourth quarter. Benson found Brightwell for a three-yard score to give Newton further cushion down the stretch. 

A few minutes removed from that touchdown pass, Benson tossed another one. This time he linked up with Keon Davis for a 36-yard score. Davis’ catch extended the Rams’ lead 33-7 following a successful two-point conversion. 

Benson hit the second half trifecta less than two minutes later when he threw a touchdown pass to Marcus Calwise with 2:31 remaining in the contest. 

Though the Rams seemed to score points with ease in the second half, that wasn’t the case early on. 

Both defense’s were stingy and seemed determined not to give up a score. 

On Newton’s inaugural drive of Friday’s game, it stormed down the field. But, when faced with a fourth and five, the Eagles’ defense stood tall to force a turnover on downs. 

Later, Kalen Stapp intercepted a pass to help keep the Rams off the board. 

The Rams returned the favor on Eastside’s first drive, surrendering a huge pass play, but not allowing points. 

It wasn’t until the closing minutes of the first quarter when the Eagles’ defensive clean record came to an end. 

With 2:04 remaining in the first, Johnson took a direct snap from the 1-yard line. He went in on the left side behind the push of his offensive line for the score. 

Eastside used some creativity to break up Newton’s perfect record on defense. 

At the 9:44 mark in the second quarter, the Eagles lined up to punt. Instead of a punt, though, head coach Jay Cawthon dialed up a fake attempt. Junior Jayden Barr took the direct snap and converted the fourth and five. The junior tailback did more than just keep Eastside’s drive alive. 

His number was called four straight times to run it in from the 15-yard line. On the fourth carry, Barr found paydirt from a yard out on second and goal. 

Johnathan Gomez’s successful extra point attempt put Eastside ahead 7-6. 

The one-point deficit was the first Newton had faced all year. But it didn’t last long. 

Two plays later, Benson linked up with Davis amid double coverage. Davis tracked the ball, gathered it and scampered for a 76-yard score. 

Eastside’s defense blocked the extra point attempt to keep the halftime score 12-7. But Newton’s offensive burst in the final 24 minutes paved the way for its 34-point win. 

Friday’s triumph makes it five-straight wins for the Rams in the rivalry series. They now have a 12-7-1 all-time record against the Eagles. Eastside’s last win came in its undefeated 2018 campaign, 27-20. 

Next week, the Eagles will be right back at Sharp Stadium to conclude the 2023 edition of the Newton Cup matchups. The Eagles (1-1) will face the Alcovy Tigers (1-1) on Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. 

The Tigers are on a bye this week after winning 42-19 over Lithonia in week one and losing to the Rams 54-0 in week two. 

Meanwhile, the Rams (3-0) will have a slightly longer week to prepare for their next contest. They will host McEachern (0-2) on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m.