Player of the Week: Bay Springs senior QB/LB Anthony Newell

BAY SPRINGS, Miss. (WDAM) - He’s the smallest guy on the field but makes the biggest impact for Bay Springs.

Senior Anthony Newell plays with a chip on his shoulder, much like the rest of his team.

“When you watch him you’d never guess what size he is because he’s flying around, just hitting people, just playing hard,” said Bay Springs head coach Dan Brady.

Nicknamed “Timber” by his grandpa, Newell can lay the wood on defense and is the Bulldogs’ leader on offense.

He stands just 5-foot-5, but Newell is a giant on the football field.

“Me being the shortest person on the team, it really just pushes me to be a better player,” Newell said. “And I know I have to work extra hard because I know I don’t have the height and all that. But I always make it work and do what I do best.”

“‘Timber’ is the prime example of not judging a book by its cover,” Brady said. “Not putting a kid in a certain position based upon size. He’s just a baller.”

And he can play just about anywhere on the field.

When he’s not under center, Newell pulls duty at linebacker, safety and occasionally defensive end.

“I really like contact,” Newell said. “I really like making a lot of contact. Sometimes coach sends me on a blitz, I love when he does that.”

“When you’re at recess in fifth grade and you’re picking your team, he’s the guy you pick first because he’s a winner,” Brady said. “That’s all he’s ever done. His teammates are extremely confident in him. When ‘Timber’ graduates next year, it’s not like we’re losing one person. We’re really losing about four because of the amount of things he can do and do well for us.”

It helps to have seniors like Newell who have been there, done that.

After winning the Class 1A State Championship last year, the Bulldogs refocused and find themselves a win away from returning to “The Rock.”

“Since we won last year, we really know what road to go down and how tough we have to be to win a state championship,” Newell said. “But we had to put all that aside. Coach Brady always reminds us that our job ain’t done, it ain’t gonna be easy. Every day we come here, work our tails off and just become a great team.”

“Every year we talk about survive and advance in the playoffs and just making it to Thanksgiving break,” Brady said. “As my wife would say, turkey and football is what you want to have and that’s what we got. It’s going to be a great week and great game.”

Bay Springs hosts Taylorsville on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Class 1A South State Title.

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