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(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Mikey Soito runs away from defenders with the football Friday, Sept. 5, against the Crowell Wildcats. Soito is one of the veteran leaders on this team as a senior. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Keyton Newland (18) puts a stiff arm on a runner while taking off with the football. The Bobcats defeated the Wildcats in their homecoming game Friday, Sept. 5. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Cooper Clayton (56) and Rylan Hinojosa (4) run after the quarterback to try and pick up a sack Friday, Sept. 5. Head coach Isiah Archer said the defense was dominant throughout the Bobcats 73-0 victory over Crowell. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The Newcastle Bobcats call for a team huddle before their game against the Crowell Wildcats. The Bobcats picked up their second straight blowout win over Crowell 73-0. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Peyton King (8), along with his Newcastle teammates, shake hands with Crowell players after beating them Friday, Sept. 5.
The community of Newcastle had a lot to celebrate with their homecoming festivities last week capped off with the team’s annual homecoming football game.
The team made sure the community went home with smiling faces as the Bobcats picked up their second straight blowout win over the Crowell Wildcats 73-0.
The game took place Friday, Sept. 5, in what started out as a muggy weather game for the Bobcats.
Clouds and heavy rain plagued spurts of the game throughout, but that didn’t faze the Bobcats one bit.
For the second straight week, the team pulled off a shutout against their opponent with multiple players stepping up to make an impact. Some of those players who Newcastle head coach Isiah Archer named were Cooper Clayton, Mikey Soito, Keegen Voyles and Ryder Ebert.
Archer said that each of these players contributed to multiple defensive scores throughout the contest in what was a dominant performance from that group.
Soito was also a big contributor on the offensive side of the ball alongside hybrid player London Martinez, who continued to make an impact through the air and on the ground.
Martinez had a breakout campaign last year with 1,074 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. He also ran for 1,646 yards on 164 carries and 25 touchdowns.
Overall though, probably the biggest improvement that Archer said about the team was their level of energy and focus went up a notch from last week to this week.
Despite picking up a 46-0 win over Iredell in week one, the team felt down on themselves after the victory because they didn’t feel their energy and execution was what they wanted it to be. That was not the case this go around as the team’s dominance was on another level.
“They felt a lot better,” Archer said. “They took it better coming into the game. Everybody felt more focused.”
Archer told the team after the game it was important for them to keep that level of focus up going into next week and continuing into the rest of the season.
The Bobcats pick things up once again Friday, Sept. 12, the against Gold-Burg Bears at 7:30 p.m.
