NEWTON 35, SOUTH 27

For the better part of three quarters, the script was going well for the South Cougars at Fischer Field in Newton on Friday night. With just under five minutes to play in the 3rd quarter, they had the ball and a six-point lead.

Then…it all went wrong in a snap. Quarterback Weston Fries’ pass bounced off wideout Tejon McDaniel, and was intercepted by Joe Slechta who ran it back 35 yards for a touchdown. South would fumble an exchange on their next offensive play, and the Railers took advantage of the short field and scored again quickly. It was part of a 21-point surge in just over five minutes of game-time, and Newton would hold on in the end to beat the Cougars 35-27.

The teams traded touchdowns in the first half, and the score was knotted at 14-apiece at the break.

South (1-6) would unofficially out-gain Newton (2-5) 341-261 but the Cougars were -2 in the turnover department and that proved to be costly.

The Cougars got a 100-yard rushing effort from Seth Clemmer, and Fries threw for 225 yards and a score to Kaden Budke. Jarrett Pittenger had a fine game with several tackles defensively and an impressive block on special teams.

South will look to end the regular season on a high note as they’ll be up against cross-town rival Central next Friday.