Sports Report October 1, 2024

***HOMECOMING WEEK EDITION***

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Visit the GNWC Tent at the Homecoming Game!

Football

On Friday (9/27), the Greenies players and fans marched together up Freret Street to neighboring Brees Family Field to take on The Willow School. From the outset, the Greenies dominated the Lions in all phases.

The offense started by completing a speedy 52-yard drive for a touchdown on a 6-yard run by running back Jake Randle. On The Willow School’s first drive, the defense forced an interception on the Lions’ 6-yard line. Eli Friend’s subsequent touchdown pass to Collier Villere quickly made it 14-0 while many in the crowd were still finding seats. After a Lions punt, Randle ran in 4-yard touchdown, followed by a George Loop 17-yard touchdown on a jet sweep to increase the lead to 28. As the first quarter was ending, the Lions punt team snapped the ball over the punter’s head and out of the end zone for a safety, giving the Greenies a 30-0 advantage.

Despite the lead, the Greenies had rested the last two weeks and needed to continue to work the starters in the second quarter. Loop quickly added a 7-yard touchdown and for the coup de grace, Charles Wilson snatched a 35-yard touchdown reception from Friend to push the score to 44-0.

For the remainder of the second half, the junior varsity reserves took over and the clock transitioned to running time. The Lions offense managed to mount an impressive drive that consumed most of the third quarter, but the JV defensive players made the most of their opportunity, denying any scores and preserving the shutout.

For their part, the Mean Machine Defense was dominant all night long, culminating in a shutout that included interceptions by seniors Justin Wells and James Reiss, and the safety on the punt attempt. The Lions offense was held to negative six yards rushing and only 98 yards passing in the game.

In his first half action, quarterback Friend ended up with a very impressive stat line: 14 for 18 for 175 passing yards and four touchdowns. Randle had twelve runs for 120 yards and two touchdowns, while running backs Hendrix Hill added 37 yards on two carries, and Tanner Robert had nine yards on his four carries. Kickers Jack Falgoust and Atticus LaFleur split the PAT duties and both were successful with their kicks.

On Friday (10/4), the Greenies will be back at home, hosting Riverdale High School for the annual Homecoming Game! Riverdale is coming off of a 67-0 victory over Crescent City Christian, so come early and get loud to enjoy a great matchup and all the accompanying Homecoming festivities.

For more on last week’s game, see NOLA.com’s “Newman Rolls Past The Willow School in a Blowout Win” here.

Cheerleading

The cheer team has had a busy schedule of late, energizing the home crowd at the varsity volleyball match last week and firing up the visiting Greenies during the big win at The Willow School. Since then, the girls have worked hard to prepare for this Friday’s Homecoming festivities. Go, Greenies, Go!

Volleyball

Last week, the varsity volleyball girls went undefeated at home on VSN here against Chalmette (25-15, 25-15 and 25-13) and against De La Salle (25-8, 25-13 and 25-13). JV Green and JV White went undefeated as well against the same schools. Great job girls!

Over the weekend, the varsity girls traveled to Baton Rouge for the “Rumble in the Jungle Tournament.” The team started off strong with two big wins on Friday night against Woodlawn (25-8, 25-7), and A.J. Ellender (25-8, 25-4). They came back on Saturday with the same energy and won both games against Doyle (25-10, 25-15) and Hammond (25-18, 25-8). They ultimately lost a close match in the semifinals to a strong Slidell team (18-25, 23-15). All teams played some great volleyball this weekend.

This week, the varsity girls, now 12-5 on the season will play E.D. White today (10/1) at E.D. White at 6pm. JV White plays at 4pm and JV Green will play at 5pm. The junior varsity squads will end the week in the St. Joseph’s JV Challenge on Saturday (10/5), starting at 8am. Good luck to all teams! Go Greenies!

Swimming

Last weekend, the varsity swim team traveled to Baton Rouge to take on some of the top schools in the state. Despite facing tough competition, the Greenies once again delivered strong performances, adding more state-qualifying times to their season.

The following swimmers qualified for state in their respective events:

• Nick Rezza ’25 – 100 Backstroke

• Vivian Zhou ’26 – 100 Butterfly & 100 Breaststroke

• Morgan Breaux ’26 – 200 IM & 100 Freestyle

• Charlotte Norwood ’27 – 200 Freestyle & 100 Backstroke

The team looks forward to their next meet this Saturday, October 5, at 1:30pm at home (Gottesman Pool). Be sure to cheer on the Greenies as they compete this weekend, and look for Senior Captain Nick Rezza on the Homecoming Court this Friday night! Happy Homecoming and Go Greenies!

Cross Country

The cross country team took a well-deserved break from competition last weekend. The runners will be back on the course this Saturday (10/5) at the St. Joe’s Invitational at Highland Road Park in Baton Rouge. Run Greenies Run!

Upcoming Schedule

See the latest Newman sports schedule here. 

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