Newcastle’s season ends with loss to powerhouse Benjamin

It’s not often in football a team scores 84 points and takes a loss but that’s what happened to the Newcastle Bobcats in their area round playoff game Friday, Nov. 17 against the Benjamin Mustangs.

The Bobcats (10-2) gave every bit of effort they had but ultimately came away with a 112-84 loss to the Mustangs (12-0). The final result ends Newcastle’s season as Benjamin continues on in the playoffs.

With defense coming at a premium in this game, both team’s offenses put up points at an astounding rate. Newcastle’s scoring was consistent throughout the game as the team scored 20 points in both the first and fourth quarters and 22 points in both the second and third quarters.

Benjamin jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter of the game as the Mustangs — who were designated the home team while playing on a neutral site — tallied 40 points to Newcastle’s 20.

Senior Isaac King had two of Newcastle’s touchdowns in the first quarter on rushes of 17 yards and 56 yards, respectively. He also threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to fellow senior Ty Strawbridge.

But Benjamin’s offense performed at an even higher level, pulling off big runs and passes for scores while even getting a defensive touchdown on a fumble return for a score.

The two teams traded touchdowns back and forth all night and Newcastle went into halftime trailing 64-42. The Bobcats had their work cut out for them to try to get back in the game and pull out the upset victory.

However, the second half followed a similar script as the first as Benjamin continued to pour on the points and Newcastle couldn’t make the stops necessary to pull closer. The Mustangs did most of their damage on the ground as their run game ran wild for points.

Meanwhile, King and his team were doing everything possible to answer the Mustangs’ offensive efforts. King was the do-it-all player for Newcastle on the offensive side of the ball in this do-or-die game.

Despite taking the loss, King ran the ball 27 times for 474 yards and recorded seven touchdowns on the ground. He also threw three touchdown passes while racking up 157 passing yards.

But the senior’s efforts weren’t enough to overcome the juggernaut of Benjamin. The Mustangs haven’t lost a game the entire year and their lowest point total came in a 52-0 win. But the home team had also never allowed more than 33 points in any game so Newcastle’s offensive outburst was an anomaly.

Nearing the end of the game, Newcastle trailed by a significant amount and made a few last efforts to score. King scored his final rushing touchdown on a 60-yard run followed after that by a 30-yard passing touchdown from King to Strawbridge.

When the final horn sounded, the Mustangs earned the win while the Bobcats went home with the loss.

It was a successful season for Newcastle as the team earned a district championship in the regular season, a bi-district championship and finished with a 10-2 record. The Bobcats will look to carry that momentum into another successful season next year.