Tight end catches two TDs in return after leg injury

By Brooks Hatch
Corvallis Gazette-Times

Joe Newton is back, and Oregon State’s offense is immeasurably better and more productive as a result.

The senior tight end, who missed the entire 2005 season with a leg injury sustained the day before fall camp, had five receptions for 58 yards and two touchdowns on Thursday in his first game in 18 months.

Newton broke the school career record for touchdown receptions by a tight end (10), and played an instrumental role in a 56-17 romp over Eastern Washington at Reser Stadium.

“It was a ton of fun, and a pleasure to be back out there with my teammates,” said the 6-foot-7 Newton, whose imposing size makes him a major target inside the red zone.

“It felt weird at first but after that everything felt normal.”

He hadn’t played since earning MVP honors at the 2004 Insight Bowl. Newton had seven catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns in the 38-21 victory over the Irish, and 56 for 687 yards and seven TDs overall that season.

More big things were expected in 2005, but he tore a tendon in his lower left leg during an agility drill — which has since been eliminated — the day before camp opened in August 2005. The offense, built in a large part around Newton, suffered dramatically.

Tight ends Jason Vandiver and Dan Haines did not have a touchdown reception in 2005 and OSU’s red-zone efficiency plummeted from among the best in the Pacific-10 Conference to among the worst.

So, on Thursday it didn’t take long for the Beavers to incorporate Newton back into their offense. On their fifth play, senior quarterback Matt Moore found the rangy Roseburger wide-open over the middle on a crossing pattern.

Moore hit him in stride; Newton spun away from two defenders at the 2-yard line and powered into the end zone to complete the 21-yard scoring play. It gave OSU a 14-0 lead with 9:54 remaining in the first quarter.

That touchdown tied predecessor Tim Euhus’s school mark of nine, set from 2000-03.

Newton broke the record with a 4-yard reception from Moore in the back of the end zone with 50 seconds to play in the first half.

That TD gave the Beavers a 42-7 halftime lead. Newton didn’t even play in the second half, as backups Vandiver and Howard Croom went the rest of the way.

It was the second multi-TD game in his career, the other being the aforementioned Insight Bowl.