One point made all the difference Friday night as the Racers lost to their Tri City rival, the Tuttle Tigers, 14-13.
The Racers started off the game taking a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, but then gave up two touchdowns, one in the second quarter and one in the third quarter. Tuttle made both of their extra points.
Coach Jeff Brickman said it was a good hard-nosed game, and the Racers would have made the game 20-7, but the Tigers stopped Newcastle on the goal line.
The Racers had one last chance to score at the end of the game, but were stripped of getting some extra yards in a pile. Newcastle also failed on a two-point conversion attempt. A slower tempo game also played a factor as both teams had only six possessions. The Racers usually have about 10-12 possessions during a game.
The Racers had 216 yards rushing and 128 yards passing for 344 total yards. Tuttle had 213 rushing yards and 86 passing for 299 total yards.
Individuals recognized for their play included: Trey Burchett, Most Valuable Player and hammer; Rex Heskew on offense; Taj Smith, defense; Caleb Dupler, special teams; Chad Craft, pancake stick; and Ashton Shumard, practice player of the week.
Newcastle concludes regular season play Friday (tomorrow) night with a game hosted by the Bethany Bronchos. Brickman said the Racers need to have a great week of practice. He noted that Bethany is very well coached.
Newcastle (4-2) and Bethany (4-2) are tied in the District.
