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For Newman, the 2009 football season has been one of meeting expectations while flying below radar.

Ignored all season long in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association poll, the Greenies quietly raced to an 8-2 record, operating in the shadow of 10-2A powers and district rivals John Curtis Christian and St. Charles Catholic.

Of course, those were the two losses for the Greenies. Fourth-year Newman head coach Nelson Stewart says that his league has prepared the Greenies well for the postseason.

“We think we come from a very tough district. We were very good in pre-district, going 3-0. Eventually, if you are going to play in 2-A, you are going to run into John Curtis. They are part of our league, along with St. Charles Catholic and Riverside. It’s tough, but it will make you better,” said Stewart. “All four of our teams won their first round playoff games in pretty decisive fashion.”

The regular season started with a solid 35-22 victory over 3-A playoff team Bogalusa and ended with an impressive 35-21 win over 2-A district foe and playoff-bound Riverside. The Greenies also beat Northlake Christian 30-10. The Wolverines were another playoff team.

Newman entered the playoffs as the 14th-seed in 2-A and opened the playoffs in very impressive fashion, crushing 19th-seeded DeQuincy 53-20. The reward is a date in Baton Rouge at third-seeded Capitol, a 34-8 winner over Northlake Christian in the opening round.

The only loss for the highly-regarded Lions of Chadwick Germany was a 39-20 defeat to 5-A power Central in week nine. Capitol owns solid wins over Clinton, Donaldsonville, Dunham and University Lab.

The Lions are led by multi-talented quarterback Terrance Broadway (6′2 210), a commitment to Houston, who has passed for nearly 2,000 yards and 27 touchdowns. Senior running back Frankie Jackson has been stellar for the Lions. The Capitol defensive front is huge, led by Deven Dixon (6′2 315).

Fourth-year Newman head coach Nelson Stewart knows that Capitol will present a huge test for his Greenies. “There’s not going to be a team that’s more athletic. They are very physical. Their only loss was to 5-A power Central,” said Stewart.

The task for Newman heading into 2009 was to replace gifted quarterback Wes Luquette, who accounted for 107 touchdowns over three seasons and record-holding wide receiver Jeffrey Hampton. “That was a lot to replace going into this season,” said Stewart.

“Ryan Brenner has come in and done an excellent job at quarterback. We went from a vertical passing game to a crossing route, short-based scheme based on timing. He’s completed over 60 percent of his passes. We love our offensive line. They are very physical though they are not the biggest group in the world. Brenner gets the ball out fast. That’s something he has done well,” said Stewart.

It all came together for Newman this past summer. “We like to throw seven-on-seven and we won the small schools tournament at LSU this past summer which really gave our kids a lot of confidence going into the season,” said Stewart.

While Newman throws it well, the load falls upon the best player on the team, running back/defensive back Ronnie Vinson, a 5′11, 185 pound commitment to LSU. “We feel he’s one of the top players in the state. He’s 4.4 type in the forty. He doesn’t come off the field. He plays strong safety and running back.

He’s had consecutive weeks with 200 yards rushing and 100 this past week. He’s a high, high character kid. He’s only the third back in the last 15 years to gain 1,000 yards for us. We think he’s the first one that’s also our leading tackler. He’s a real special young man,” said Stewart.

Another standout for Newman defensively is linebacker Will Fisher, a 6′1 210 pound senior. who has a number of touchdowns for us this year on defense and he is a great leader. We think he has the ability to play at the next level.

“We will need to play our best football to win but we feel like we have an opportunity. We are looking forward to the opportunity,” Stewart said. The winner of the Newman-Capitol game faces the winner of the Holy Savior Menard vs. Jonesboro Hodge game in the quarterfinals.

While the task is tall, selling Newman short would be a mistake, as we have learned this year. Should the Greenies defeat Capitol, they will no longer have the luxury of flying below radar.