PREVIEW: Newton Gets First Test of Season Against Silsbee

Silsbee Tigers (0-1)

vs.

Newton Eagles (1-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday
Singletary Stadium, Newton

Coaches

Silsbee: Randy Smith
Newton: W.T. Johnston

Last week

Silsbee: lost to Port Neches Grove, 48-14
Newton: def. Kirbyville, 71-0

Next week

Silsbee: vs. Nederland, Sept. 14
Newton: at West Orange-Stark, Sept. 14

Players to watch

Silsbee

RB/DB Chris Martin, Jr., 6-0, 195
RB/DB Dralyn Taylor, Jr.
LB Sterling Herrington, 6-2, 215
LB Spencer Uribe, Sr., 6-0, 215
OL/DL Dolen Keenan, Sr.. 5-11, 195
DB Aaron Sells, Sr., 5-9, 175

Newton

ATH Josh Foster, Sr., 6-2, 190 (8-of-11, 167 yards, 1 TD; 1 carry, 84 yards, 1 TD)
RB Darwin Barlow, Sr., 5-11, 200 (8 carries, 162 yards, 3 TDs; 1 catch, 2 yards)
WR/DB Tamauzia Brown, Sr., 6-2, 177 (3 catches, 57 yards; 5 carries, 52 yards, 1 TD)
WR Dominique Seastrunk (4 catches, 84 yards, 1 TD)
RB Valdarion Fowler, Jr., 5-9, 170 (5 carries, 87 yards, 2 TDs)
DL James Sylvester, Jr., 6-5, 240
LB Jadrian McGraw, Sr., 6-0, 210 (8 tackles)
OL/DL Kristian Paulette, Sr., 5-10, 190 (7 tackles, 1 fumble recovery)

Just the facts

Newton has not lost since Dec. 2, 2016, when it fell in the 3A D-II regional final game to Arp.
The Eagles have not had a losing season since 1993, when they went 3-7.
Newton defeated Kirbyville to open the season by a lopsided 71-0 margin.
Tamauzia Brown was the East Texas interceptions leader in 2017, finishing with 12.
Silsbee fell in the regional semifinals to Carthage in the playoffs this past season.
The Tigers return eight defensive starters from 2017.
Newton is 5-2 against Silsbee since 2006.
Newton defeated Silsbee in a game on Sept. 8 of last season, 41-17.

Key matchup: Silsbee running attack against the Newton defense. Silsbee loves to run its offense though its running back tandem of Chris Martin and Dralyn Taylor. That strategy was a solid one of the Tigers in 2017, as the two combined for more than 1,900 yards. Newton's defense was one of the best at stopping the run, but lost linebacker Corbin Foster to graduation. Jadrian McGraw moved from defensive lineman to linebacker to take his spot and will hope to lead a Newton defense looking to stop the run this week, along with James Sylvester and Kristian Paulette.

Don't be surprised if: This game is another blowout. Newton likely has the most talent of any 3A team in Texas and it shows. The Eagles' 71-0 victory against Kirbyville in Week 1 was no fluke. Although Silsbee will likely stand a better fate than that, the final score won't be close. There are simply too many offensive weapons with Josh Foster, Tamauzia Brown and Darwin Barlow all set to explode for big chunks of yardage at any moment. Expect another one-sided affair for the most part in this one.