New Albany advances to second round with win over Gentry

Boston Newsome accomplished two goals on Friday night; breaking New Albany's single season rushing record and more importantly, helping his team advance to the second round of the 4A state playoffs.

Elizabeth Zaremba

Boston Newsome celebrates after his first of four touchdowns against Gentry on Friday.

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Elizabeth Zaremba

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Elizabeth Zaremba

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Behind the senior’s four touchdowns, the Bulldogs easily put away Indianola Gentry, 34-0, in the first round.

“I had a determination to get the school record at the beginning of the season, and I finally got that, so it’s on to 2,000 (yards) now,” Newsome said. “Just being able to dominate in the first round motivates us going into the next game. We had a good week in practice, and we didn’t approach this like it was an easy game. We need to keep doing that going into the second round and just keep doing what we’re doing.”

Needing 32 yards to break the rushing record, previously held by Jeremy Cannon, Newsome put that obstacle out of the way in New Albany’s opening drive. Shortly after, he gave the Bulldogs its first score on a two-yard run, and added to that in the second quarter, running in from six-yards out, making it 14-0.

Spencer Day connected with Jimmy Baldon for an 18-yard score, giving the Bulldogs a 20-0 lead at the half, and Newsome added two more touchdowns on runs of three and 18 yards in the third quarter.

“I’m so proud of that kid. He works extremely hard, and for him to accomplish that record is great,” Bulldogs head coach Ron Price said. “He’ll be the first to credit his offensive line and fullback. It’s a team game, and it’s been a team effort for that offense.”

“Any time you can break a school record, it’s an amazing thing. He’s carried the ball over 300 times so far this year, and I am just very proud of him. All of the hard work has paid off for him. We’re not done, and he’s going to keep adding yards onto that for the next person to try to break.”

Newsome finished the night with 152 yards on the ground, followed by O.J. Hardin with 107 yards. Price was pleased overall with his team’s effort as they now look ahead to a second round match-up with Louisville, who defeated Corinth, 42-19.

“Our guys came out, and we’ve challenged them all week to come out and play hard, and they did a great job of doing that tonight,” Price said. “The defense did a great job going out and executing the game plan and never let them have a chance to be in the game. Teams like that that are very athletic, you don’t want to let them hang around and be in the ballgame, so that was big for us. I think our guys did a good job of putting them away early. Offensively, we were clicking tonight. When you can do things like that, it makes life easier.”

New Albany will host Louisville at Kitchens’ Field next week.

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