Photo courtesy of Zack Decter
John Kim
Sports Reporter
The Newton South football team beat Winchester 27-19 after a difficult first half, where the boys had been down 13-6. “We came out slow,” said Captain Patrick Sullivan. The boys came alive in the second half, however, increasing their energy. “We cut back on stupid mistakes and we really hit our stride,” said Sullivan. The team ultimately scored two touchdowns to win the game.
One player who stood out was Graham Tonkongony, who scored two touchdowns. His performance was “probably the best I’ve seen a sophomore play,” said Sullivan.
For Patrick, it was a pleasant surprise to see the team come back by the end of the second half. “I’ve never seen a team from South come back like that. [Coming back] is something we’ve struggled with in the past. Perhaps this is a new chapter for the Newton South football team.”
Sullivan additionally feels that the football team is growing to be a more inclusive environment to lowerclassmen: “I feel like the team is much closer than when I was an underclassman. When I was an underclassman, there was a rift between the upperclassmen and lower. There was always a sense of ‘juniors and seniors are just better,’” said Sullivan. The team is different this year: “We aren’t perfect, but we’re a much closer team than in years past.”
The team’s captain still believes there is much to work on: “It all comes back to that first half we had. I’d like us to come out stronger in the first half and come out like we really want to win, rather than starting out slow and digging ourselves a hole,” said Sullivan.
To be fair, the team was dealt a hard hand. “We didn’t have a lot of time to improve. We played in the spring last year, so we only had a summer until the season started again. A lot of guys spent the summer working out and going to camps. We are definitely much stronger and more athletic, as well as more [well] rounded.”
In general, things are looking up for the undefeated NSHS boys football team.
