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The Troup football team was on the road to Newnan on Monday for their spring game and it was anything but business as usual with the Tigers falling 28-10. Troup played, coached and spectated with heavy hearts on Monday after the tragic accident last Thursday involving five students. Simply put, football was the least of everyone’s concerns on Monday.

On the field, the Troup defense was stout for the opening half before giving way in the second half as the second unit could not keep up the same level of production the starters set the tone with.

The offensive side of the ball was much more of a struggle. There were growing pains with so many young players playing their first varsity reps. The team lost 17 total starters from a season ago.

Newnan opened the scoring on a 27-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown halfway through the first quarter. The Tigers eventually got on the board when coach Tanner Glisson elected to kick a field goal on fourth and four from the 13. McCarty Harrelson nailed the kick and will be a real weapon going into his second season as the starting kicker. 

The Tigers trailed 7-3 until the Cougars hit a big pass play, setting up a short touchdown run to go up 14-3 with 1:10 left in the half. These were the first points the defense surrendered in the game. 

The Cougars came out firing in the second half and dominated the second-string battle. Newnan will be playing in 5A next season while Troup will be in 3A and the Cougars were able to flex their depth in the second half. 

Troup finally got in the endzone on the final play of the game when Jonderious Williams rattled off a 24-yard run.

The Tigers will be on the practice field on June 3. The Tigers will play a scrimmage against Cedartown on Aug. 2 before kicking off their season on the road to Villa Rica on Aug. 16.