Friend, Newman overwhelm St. Thomas Aquinas

NEW ORLEANS – Newman entered Friday night’s playoff game as statistically better team. The Greenies had better league and overall records which earned them a first round bye. Despite a slightly muted start, they lived up to expectations.

At Lupin Field in the regional round of the Division III Select playoffs, Newman blanked St. Thomas Aquinas Falcons 45-0.

Everywhere you looked, it seemed like Greenies quarterback Eli Friend was making something happen. He commanded the Newman offense and made it clear that he was one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the state, ending the game with nearly 300 all-purpose yards, three passing touchdowns and one rushing score.

Newman began their scoring outburst late in the first quarter with a 13-yard touchdown run from Jake Randle, who stayed involved in the offense all game with nearly 100 rushing yards on the night. Newman remained up 7-0 going into the second quarter.

Friend found Peter Loop in the endzone on a 19-yard touchdown toss up to double the lead. To finish off the half, Friend fired a 22-yard laser to Loop to make it 21-0. Loop finished with two touchdowns and 74 receiving yards.

Midway through the third quarter, Friend ran 57 yards straight to the house, extending Newman’s lead to 28-0.

The Greenies kicked their only field goal early in the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 31-0. Five minutes later, Friend threw his last touchdown of the night to Anthony Jones on a 17-yard pass.

Following a fumble recovery deep in Falcons territory, Greenies backup quarterback Charles Wilson got his own share of the action, running in a 7-yard touchdown to cap off the Greenies’ scoring.

Newman head coach Nelson Stewart was extremely proud of his team’s performance and shared his thoughts on the game:

Although he was unable to power his team to points against a stout Newman defense, St. Thomas Aquinas running back Kohen Rowbatham’s presence tonight was felt in a losing effort.

Newman will move on to host Episcopal in a quarterfinal game next Friday.

Newman
– 48 receiving yards
– 117 rushing yards

St. Thomas Aquinas
– 179 receiving yards
– 227 rushing yards

Scoring Breakdown
Quarter – 1st 2nd 3rd 4th – Total
Newman 7 14 7 17 – 45
St. Thomas 0 0 0 0 – 0