Cameron Yoe Rallies from 14 Down to End Newton’s Undefeated Season, 39-22

[By Tom Glave, Special to ETSN.fm]

SHENANDOAH – Cameron Yoe turned chances into points Friday at Woodforest Bank Stadium. The Yoeman rallied from a two-touchdown deficit en route to a 39-22 win over Newton in a Class 2A Division I semifinal.

Junior quarterback Jason Kopriva threw for 251 yards and four touchdowns and the Yoemen (14-0) scored 31 unanswered points to earn their third state championship berth.

The Yoemen will play Daingerfield at noon Friday (Dec. 21) in the 2A Division I state championship game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Newton junior Anthony Hadnot dropped the Yoemen for back-to-back tackles for loss before blocking a punt deep in Yoe territory on the first play of the second quarter. Teammate Romando Stewart returned the loose ball 2 yards to push the Eagles’ lead to 22-8.

It was all Yoe after that, who forced the Eagles (13-1) into a fumble and three failed fourth downs.

Colton Shelton caught the first of his two touchdown passes to start Yoe’s scoring streak. He took a quick strike 40 yards to the end zone but Newton blocked the ensuing extra point to keep its lead at 22-14.

Yoe ran eight plays inside the Newton 10 on its next possession before Kopriva punched it in from 2 yards out.

The Yoemen got a fresh set of downs after a personal foul on third down and a defensive hold on fourth down set up Kopriva’s run. He hit Zach Felts for a two-point conversion to tie the game at 22 with 2:03 left in the first half.

Four plays later, Tyler Sapp poked the ball away from Newton quarterback D.J. Dean and Jalen White returned it to the Newton 44 with 20 seconds left in the half. Kopriva hit Felts for a 15-yard gain to set up Michael Evan’s 45-yard go-ahead field goal as time expired.

Kopriva, who finished 8 of 15, went 3-for-3 with touchdowns to Shelton and White in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

Shelton finished with three catches for 97 yards and Aaron Sims had 82 yards on a pair of receptions.

Yoe finished with 317 total yards and held the high-scoring Eagles to 250 rushing yards.

Brandon Johnson led the Eagles with 151 yards on 19 carries. He broke free for a 67-yard touchdown run up the middle to put Newton on the board first. Yoe answered with Kopriva’s quick slant to Sims, who outran the defense for a 79-yard score.

Newton nearly had a safety on that possession but a penalty negated the sack.

Dean, who rushed for 44 yards on nine carries in the loss, put the Eagles back ahead on an 11-yard keeper late in the first quarter.