Newton (Georgia) assistant coach strikes Milton player

During a preseason Georgia high school football scrimmage between the 2023 Class 7A champion Milton Eagles and Newton Rams on Friday night, an unidentified Newton football coach was caught on video striking Milton linebacker Hayden Tumminia as he walked away from the opposition’s sideline.

A clip of the incident was posted on X by Milton head coach Ben Reaves Jr. The video had produced nearly 200,000 views before being taken down. The Eagles are the top team in the state in SBLive Georgia’s Preseason Top 25 rankings.

Newton head coach Joshua Skelton posted an apology on behalf of the Rams’ football program on Saturday afternoon and stated the assistant coach in question was no longer with the program. Skelton’s statement that was posted on X is below.

“On behalf of Newton Football I want to apologize for the Incident that happened between our coach and a Milton player. This behavior is not a reflection of Newton football, our community, or culture. We want to personally apologize to Coach Ben Reeves, Milton High School Football, our Newton community, and the High School Football coaching community. The coach involved is no longer part of our program and we look forward to a great year of Newton Football. We wish the Milton Eagles football team a great season.”

Prior to the punch, both teams appeared to be in between plays and as soon as Tumminia walked by the Rams’ assistant, the coach struck the back of Tumminia’s head with one official’s back turned and another apparently watching the action unfold entirely.

Tumminia immediately turned to face the official who had his back turned to ask about the coach striking his head after the play was over.

After taking down the viral post, Reaves Jr. posted about him and Skelton speaking, and indicated the situation had been handled.

“Earlier (Coach Joshua Skelton) and I were able to talk, get on the same page, and are bothhappy with the actions that will be taken by both programs. Moving forward, we wish Newton Football nothing but the best, the issue has been mutually handled, the tweet is down, now moving on towards Game 1.”

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— Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivega