Football: Newman rolls past Orion at home

STERLING – After a strong start, Newman answered the bell after taking Orion’s best shot in a 54-21 Three Rivers Rock victory Friday night at Roscoe Eades Stadium.

The Comets saw a 14-0 lead turn into a 14-14 tie after two big plays by the Chargers, but responded with touchdowns on six of their next seven drives to pull away.

“Our offense was just clicking tonight. It seemed like everything we did was working,” junior quarterback Evan Bushman said. “Our line did a great job tonight, really opened holes, and our receivers ran really nice routes. Our offense was rolling tonight, and it was nice to see.”

[ Photos from Newman vs. Orion football ]

Newman (3-1, 2-0 TRAC Rock) forced a three-and-out on each of Orion’s first two drives, and got a 22-yard touchdown pass from Bushman to Matthew Blackert and an 18-yard TD run by Briar Ivey to take a 14-0 lead with 3:54 left in the first quarter.

But Orion (1-3, 0-2) answered with an 81-yard kickoff return touchdown by Owen Voorhees, then forced a Newman punt and scored on the very next play with an 86-yard scoring strike from Kale Filler to Voorhees to tie it up just two minutes later.

The Comets bounced back, as Blackert broke off a 48-yard touchdown run, then they stopped the Chargers on downs at the Newman 11 and the Newman 27 on back-to-back possessions. Brady Williamson rumbled for a 54-yard touchdown run, lowering his pads and running over an Orion defender about 15 yards downfield before hurdling him and outrunning the rest of the defense.

“I think that physicality is what we practice,” Williamson said. “We do a lot of physical plays and reps, a lot of live plays, so I feel like that gets us ready for the game. We have a lot of good players on our team, so the practice we get against each other really sets us up for these games, gives us the upper hand. We started fast and stayed disciplined tonight.”

Daniel Kelly intercepted a pass to end Orion’s next drive, then caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Bushman on the very next play to make it 35-14 at halftime.

Ivey ran for a 12-yard TD on the first drive of the second half; the score was set up by a 46-yard pass from Bushman to Kelly. Bushman connected with Williamson (18 yards) and John Rowzee (69 yards) on the next two Newman drives to set the running clock in motion; the final scoring drive started on the Newman 5 after Ivey recovered a fumble and was kept alive by Kelly’s 17-yard run on third down, when he also ran over an Orion defender.

“It just goes to show how many athletes we have,” said Ivey, who rushed for 116 yards on 14 carries. “We’re so dynamic, we just have so many guys who can make plays. We’re so explosive – anything can happen at any time, from anyone.”

Bushman was 10-for-12 passing for 238 yards and four touchdowns, while the Comets rushed for 300 yards and four more scores on 38 carries (7.9 yards per carry).

Filler finished 14-for-28 for 241 yards through the air, with two touchdowns and two interceptions; he connected with Jake Bainbridge for a TD pass on Orion’s final drive. Aiden Fisher added 69 yards on 14 rushes.

“Honestly, we felt they couldn’t sustain a drive, it was just a couple of big plays that they scored on,” Kelly said. “I think we got too high on ourselves, then we kind of settled down. We wanted to make sure they really couldn’t do anything against us. We kind of punched them in the mouth on offense, then the defense took control and shut them down.”

“Those two quick scores, getting back in it, I thought that would light a fire under our kids – but it really didn’t,” Orion coach Chip Filler said. “We were pretty monotone, not being really loud and ‘up’. It was a weird night, and we weren’t our normal selves. Our quarterback had a little bit of an off night – he’s a much better player than he showed tonight – and honestly, we go how he goes. Our stars have to be stars; they can’t play mediocre and expect us to win. We’ve just got to be more focused and play better.”