CHATSWORTH — Northwest Whitfield fell behind North Murray 12-7 midway through the third quarter.
Afterward, it was all Bruins.
Northwest (2-0) took the lead near the end of the fourth quarter and pulled away in the fourth to defeat their rivals from the neighboring county 29-12 in Chatsworth Friday night.
“There was some sloppy football by us, but then there was some fantastic resiliency by our guys,” Northwest coach Josh Robinson said. “We just found a way after that to do what we’re supposed to do. We scored to take the lead and never looked back.”
After North Murray (1-1) ground their opener with Dalton into a slow-moving slugfest of a 22-9 win, the low-scoring formula worked through most of three quarters.
Northwest led 7-6 at halftime, but North Murray’s Nick Carter caught a short pass and trucked through a defender to get the Mountaineers down to the 1. Layten Myers pushed in on third-and-goal to put the Mountaineers up 12-7 with 5:59 to go in the third, even though a 2-point attempt was stuffed.
Northwest marched down the field thanks to a couple of drive-sustaining penalties and a long Caden Ramsey run, and Bruin quarterback Gavin Nuckolls found Corbin Bates for the 7-yard go-ahead touchdown with 1:49 left in the third period. Nuckolls hit Akendris Douglas for two, and the score was 15-12.
North Murray couldn’t do anything with its next possession, and the lead was extended when Evan Jones shook his defender at the line and got wide open on a short post route. Nuckolls hit him in stride for the 41-yard score to make it 22-12 with 9:15 left.
Another Mountaineer drive failed to move much, and North Murray had to punt with 7:15 to play, hoping for a quick stop.
It never came, and the Bruins took the ball down for the clinching score, a Cameron Collins 3-yarder with just 1:46 to play.
The clock ran down as North Murray attempted to get back into it, and Northwest only had to kneel out the remaining 13 seconds when the ball got back in the Bruins’ hands.
After North Murray went up 12-7, Northwest got quick stops on the next two Neer possessions, allowing the Bruins to pull away.
“We got a big stop on the two-point conversion, and I thought that set the tone,” Robinson said.
An early North Murray turnover led to a quick Bruin score to start the game.
One play after a would-be interception of North Murray QB Hudson Hulett by Lucas Amos was wiped out because of a roughing the passer penalty, North Murray fumbled, and Walker Jones scooped the ball up and sprinted to the North Murray 8.
Two plays later, Nuckolls hit the first of his three TD passes, finding Will Wade on a slant for six. The PAT made it 7-0 with 7:22 in the first.
Northwest got an interception that counted after Jacob Lea stepped in front of a Hulett pass on the next drive, but the Bruins gave it back when a bobbled ball landed in the hands of North Murray’s Corbin Patterson inside the Mountaineer 10.
A long Hulett run set up a 10-yard Carter rushing score for North Murray to make the score 7-6 with 1:42 before halftime.
The Bruins quickly got into field goal range, but another Bruin miscue, a botched snapper-holder exchange, wiped out the attempt.
“We let one mistake lead to two and lead to three,” Robinson said. “But then we came back and executed.”
Once the Bruins cleaned up the mistakes in the second half, Northwest cruised on offense and locked down on defense.
The win is the fourth in five total games for Northwest over North Murray since the series started in 2020. The Bruins erased a 28-0 deficit to win last year.
Now, it’s on to Dalton.
Northwest plays Dalton next Friday at 7:30 for the Bruins’ home-opener in Tunnel Hill. It’s the first time the two Whitfield County foes have met on the football field since 2019.
“I look forward to the opportunity for our kids to play in front of a huge crowd,” Robinson said. “Dalton’s a good football team with good athletes and good coaches.”
After opening with two non-region games, North Murray is off next week before hosting Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Sept. 6 to begin Region 7-2A play.