Northside tops South Creek to stay perfect
Published 11:14 pm Friday, September 9, 2016
- Kenan Wilkinson dives for the pylons for a two-point conversion, but comes up just a bit short. The Panthers were 0-for-4 on two-point attempts.
PINETOWN — The theme for Northside this season has been bending, but not breaking. The Panthers were tested plenty Friday night against South Creek. They never broke, though, and improved to 4-0 on the season with a 24-7 win.
The game was sloppy throughout. It was somewhat understandable considering Northside was just four days removed from a rivalry match with at Southside. The Cougars were also faced a quick turnaround after hosting Riverside this past Monday.
“It feels good. We still have a lot to do, but we found a way to win a sloppy game,” Northside coach Keith Boyd said. “That’s what we haven’t been able to do in the past. We’re 4-0 and we’ll just go back to work.”
Both teams turned the ball over plenty of times. Northside was able to capitalize on turnovers with a pair of first-half defensive scores.
“It was the big plays,” Boyd said. “We had a couple of big plays, especially the fumble recovery for a touchdown and the interception return for a touchdown. We kind of got the breaks we normally don’t get.”
The visiting Cougars drew first blood on a 15-yard touchdown run by Zikeyai Cherry. Northside’s offense seemed to negate the slow start when Chris Slade broke off a 25-yard run on the second play of the series. A personal foul against South Creek set up the Panthers at the Cougars’ 25-yard line, but they fumbled the ball away on the next play.
Northside forced a fumble shortly thereafter, which Tyrece Taylor scooped up and took to the house, cutting South Creek’s lead to 7-6 with 6:46 left in the opening period.
Quarterback Jackson Midgette spearheaded the go-ahead drive in the second quarter. He connected with tight end Dawson Jackson for a 37-yard gain. Midgette then capped off the drive by scoring on a 9-yard run.
Midgette posted the defense’s second touchdown of the game on the ensuing Cougar drive. Matthew Marslender deflected a pass from South Creek quarterback Jahkene Clark, which Midgette snared out of the air and returned for a touchdown.
Even though they took an 18-7 lead into the locker room at halftime, the Panthers’ offense had some work to do. They were being outscored by their own defense through 24 minutes of action.
It was the defense that led the Panthers to a strong first half. In addition to the pair of touchdowns, they withstood South Creek’s offense, despite being on the field for so long.
“You’ve got to give them an A-plus,” Boyd said. “The whole first half, they were on the field. They hung in there, battled, we found a way to put one in, and then here come the turnovers. We go in (to halftime) up 18-7 when we could have been down 7-6. I’m very pleased with the defense.”
Northside put together its best offensive drive of the game on their second possession of the second half. James Barrow earned a first down on a fourth-and-5 inside South Creek’s 25-yard line. Midgette also moved the chains inside the five, setting up Taylor for his second touchdown of the game.
“I’m very pleased with Tyrece. He ran really hard,” Boyd said. “He kind of gave us a spark and found ways to get first downs we were coming up short with. We got to find a way to get the ball in his hands more.”
Exhaustion set in for South Creek as the fourth quarter went on. The Cougars had many two-way players, so Northside’s depth proved advantageous in the latter stages of the game.
Barrow got banged up late in the third quarter. He limped off the field and didn’t return to the game. Boyd said that Barrow rolled his ankle and shouldn’t miss any action.
Northside travels to Riverside next week. The Knights are coming off a 26-20 overtime win against Southside.