To Northside head coach Paul Cates’ relief, history did not repeat itself Friday as the Patriots defeated Lee County 18-11 on homecoming night at Kinnett Stadium.
Cates’ relief was evident by the hugs he gave some of his players after being doused by a Gatorade shower. His Patriots, now 4-0, had gotten over a major hump.
The 31-14 loss to the Trojans last year began a slump that ended with a 4-6 record.
“We were in the same position last year, 3-0,” Cates said. “We went to Lee County and came back 3-1. We’re 4-0 now, which means we can’t be 3-7.”
Lee County didn’t have an answer for Northside senior quarterback Jalen Lacy, who rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another.
“He’s very impressive,” Lee County head coach Dean Fabrizio said. “We put our game plan around trying to stop him. There was a stretch in the first half where he really took control. With great players, sometimes even when you base your game plan around them, they still come through. That’s what great players do.”
The biggest run of the night came in the fourth quarter as the Patriots tried to protect a seven-point lead with just under five minutes remaining after forcing the Trojans to turn the ball over on downs inside the Northside 20-yard line.
Lacy broke free for 50 yards on a “lead-left” play, which allowed the Patriots to run all but 6 seconds off the clock.
The drive accounted for more than 70 of Northside’s 267 total rushing yards.
“We saw they were tired and we just ran it down their throats,” Lacy said. “Our perimeter blocking was good all game and our receivers kept it contained.”
Lee County, which came into the game averaging 44.7 points per game, tested the Northside defense early, which earned shutouts in each of its previous games. On the opening drive, quarterback Matt Mears led the Trojans on a 10-play, 71-yard drive, ending in an 11-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Stroud.
Mears completed all five of his passes on the drive and finished 22-of-41 for 244 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The Northside defense made adjustments to rattle Mears in the pocket, recording six sacks, deflecting passes at the line of scrimmage, and preventing two scoring opportunities.
“They fought their tails off,” Cates said. “It was a mixture of pressure and playing zone. We tipped a few balls and kept them out of the end zone.”
The Patriots responded offensively with three unanswered touchdowns in the first half, the first being a 19-yard run by Lacy following a Keith Stutts blocked punt, which set up the Patriots in Trojan territory. In the second quarter, Lacy rambled 24 yards for a touchdown and, just before halftime, he hit running back Brady Pitts out of the backfield for a 23-yard score.
Lee County was the first of a brutal stretch of region games Northside will have to face the rest of the season. Northside will be at home again next week against Thomas County Central, another team that embarrassed the Patriots last year with a a 42-0 shutout.
“This win gives us a big advantage and lets us know that we can do it,” Lacy said.
