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Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

Northside holds on to claim region crown

WARNER ROBINS — Pushed to the limit in the second half by a balanced and creative Colquitt County attack, Northside’s defense made a decisive stand in the closing minutes as the Eagles beat Colquitt County 20-17 and earned the GHSA Region 1-AAAAA title Friday at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.

“We pushed ourselves to the limit all week,” Northside freshman defensive lineman Anferne Chatfield said. “The two-minute drill is what it’s all about.”

Chatfield had the second of two key sacks for Northside as the Packers were driving late in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie the game or take the lead. Earl Billingsley had the first and it went for 10 yards.

Facing a fourth-and-16 at the Northside 43, Colquitt County quarterback Tyler Brown threw an interception to senior defensive back Dontavious Anderson with just more than one minute left in the game. The Eagles (9-1) killed the final few seconds to end the game.

“We ran some stunts on that last drive and changed up our coverage in the secondary on the last two plays,” Northside defensive coordinator Kevin Kinsler said.

Colquitt County trailed 20-3 after Northside’s Devon Pike kicked his second field goal of the night with 6:08 remaining in the third quarter. The Packers rallied behind the legs and receiving ability of do-everything athlete Quin Roberson, who rushed for touchdowns on consecutive possessions sandwiched around the third-quarter break. Roberson had nearly 200 yards of rushing and receiving offense from the line of scrimmage as he helped cut his team’s deficit to 20-17 with 7:59 left in the game.

Brown completed 14-of-22 pass attempts for 175 yards for Colquitt County. Anderson’s late pick accounted for the Packers lone turnover.

Northside bolted to 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Eagles went 80 yards for a touchdown on their opening drive. Quarterback Briar Van Brunt took the opening snap and carried for 22 yards. He then connected for 23 more to receiver Cartrell Brooks. Running back Shaquille O’Neill covered the next 36 yards in installments. He went left for 9, then left again for 27 more and an early Northside lead.

O’Neill finished the night with 131 rushing yards on 17 carries.

The Eagles’ defense forced a quick punt and Northside was in business again from its own 16. Chris Vickers took a handoff around right end for 8 yards and a touchdown to cap an 84-yard drive.

The two teams traded field goals in the final 4:30 of the first half as Northside took a 17-3 lead into intermission. It was an interesting few minutes.

Colquitt County was driving toward a score on its best possession of the first half when the Packers lost a down. Officials on the field lost track of the downs and awarded the ball to Northside after a third-down stop. Northside video in the press box confirmed the mistake.

On Northside’s ensuing possession, Van Brunt (6-of-11, 200 yards) threw the first of two interceptions. After his players’ return deep into Northside territory, Colquitt County coach Rush Propst celebrated on the field for several seconds, waving toward the Northside bench and stands before an assistant coach moved him away.