ACCIDENT — Leading 14-7 at halftime, Northern took command in the second half, scoring 28 unanswered points to defeat Southern 42-7 on Friday at Half-Mile High Stadium.
“We knew they were gonna come out ready to go, and they were,” Northern head coach Logan Stewart said. “They played a great, competitive first half. And then it just came down to the adjustments. Our kids really made the proper adjustments and finished in the second half.”
Southern head coach Dave McLaughlin was unavailable for comment.
The Rams (4-5) opened the second half with a 10-play drive but was stuffed on a fourth-and-five.
The Huskies (4-5) answered with a seven-play, 60-yard drive led by a 28-yard toss to Caleb Hinebaugh on a last second option play from Landon Yoder down to the one.
Hinebaugh finished with 86 yards on 12 carries.
Yoder then scored on the next play on a quarterback sneak.
“A lot of it was controlling the line of scrimmage,” Stewart said of the halftime adjustments. “It wasn’t really schematics, it was more of do you want to or do you not want to. The D-line responded the right way, the linebackers probably played their best second half of the year.”
On the opening play of the fourth quarter, the Rams were stuffed on fourth down at the Husky 25.
Northern took advantage, scoring on an 11-yard pass from Yoder to Emmitt Lipscomb.
Another fourth down stop by the Huskies on the next drive set up a 15-yard touchdown run by Evan Graham, who finished with 14 carries for 108 yards and three touchdowns after rushing nine times for 72 yards and two scores in the first quarter.
Southern lined up to punt on the next drive, and Cole France blocked it and Aaron Mast recovered for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
On Northern’s opening drive, Graham rushed on five of the six plays, capping it off with an 11-yard touchdown run.
Mast recovered a fumble on the Rams’ opening play, but a fourth down pass was dropped to stall the ensuing drive.
Mast recovered another fumble two plays into Southern’s next possession, setting up Graham four plays later for a 13-yard touchdown scamper.
Mast recovered all three of the Rams’ fumbles with one recovery for a touchdown.
“Right place, right time, but also he was one of those soccer players,” Stewart said. “He’s never played football, at least at Northern High. We wouldn’t have him if the soccer team program didn’t fold. He started the year on JV and came to work everyday, was very, very coachable and it’s paying off.”
Northern went for two, and Yoder walked in on a keeper to push the lead to 14-0.
Southern answered with an 18-play, 61-yard drive and converted three fourth down conversions.
On fourth-and-goal at the two, Jacob Brown willed his way in on a keeper.
Brown led the Rams with 69 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown while Pierce Ramos recorded 16 carries for 67 yards.
The ensuing kickoff was returned 80 yards by Lipscomb for a touchdown, but was brought back by a holding penalty.
The drive stalled on a tipped interception on fourth down by Hayden Williams, keeping the Husky lead 14-7 at halftime.
Northern’s defense held Southern to 5 of 14 on third down and 3 of 6 on fourth down.
“That was linebackers and ends playing a lot better than we have the past few weeks,” Stewart said. “In the second half, the interior of the defense really stepped up.”
The Huskies led 229-155 in yardage with a 218-159 advantage on the ground.
Before the game, Northern recognized nine players on Senior Night.
Graham, Hinebaugh, Yoder, Hunter Livengood, Timmy Brands, Ansen Miller, Brice Roche, Nathan Wakefield and Jake Wampler played their final regular season home game.
This year’s class was part of last year’s squad who led the Huskies to its first state title game in school history and first state tournament in 24 years.
“I relied on them a lot, just from a leadership standpoint,” Stewart said. “Getting them on board with understanding some of the minor changes that we made. But they’ve grown throughout the year just as much as a freshman would adapting to high school football. Not as much on the field, but the character development they’ve had.”
Up next for both teams is the regional first round of the playoffs next week.
Northern will likely host a game in the opening round, with the standings to be finalized after Saturday’s slate.
“We talked about, when is the run gonna start,” Stewart said. “Last year, it was kinda the Hampshire game that turned it around. Then we were hoping it would be one of those last two weeks, we didn’t make it happen then. Second half was a great time to start.”
Southern will be on the road, potentially for a rematch at Northern.