Northside opens season with shutout of Kendrick

Northside used a stingy and opportunistic defense and a strong running attack to overwhelm Kendrick 35-0 Thursday at Kinnett Stadium. It was the season opener for the Patriots, while Kendrick falls to 1-1.

"We knew their starting quarterback was hurt and sort of had an idea of what they wanted to do on offense. I was proud of the way our defense played tonight. We also did some good things on offense," said Northside coach Morgan Ingram.

"We ran the ball well and Kalan Watts had a big night, but we also have a lot to work on. We have got to spread the wealth and help open up some things for our offense in games to come. We have a long way to go."

Northside appeared headed for the end zone on its first possession, but saw its drive stall at the Cherokees' 24-yard line. A fumbled snap foiled a Nathan Robertson field goal attempt and turned the ball over. The second possession for the Patriots also chewed up some yardage, but an interception by JeMarious Holloway of Kendrick at his 2 ended the threat.

The Patriots got on the board right away, however, as big Mike Byrd pounced on a fumble in the end zone on the Cherokees' first play.

The "lineman's dream" and the Robertson kick gave Northside a 7-0 lead with 4:53 left in the first period. It was the first official touchdown on the brand new turf at Kinnett Stadium.

"It was great to get the first touchdown on the new turf here at Kinnett, and it was really cool for a 300-pound lineman to do it on that fumble recovery," said Ingram.

After forcing a three-and-out, Northside took over at the Kendrick 46-yard line and started a 10-play march that resulted in their second score of the night. Quarterback Levi Dunn went the final five yards to cap the drive. A key play was his 17-yard completion to Shamar Brown on third down to put the Patriots at the Kendrick six.

Northside would get its final score of the half midway through the second quarter. Running back Kalan Watts did most of the work, carrying on six of the 10 plays in the drive and finishing the trek with a 9-yard run. Robertson added his third PAT to make it 21-0 with 6:03 to play in the half.

The Patriots added a third-quarter score on a nice 27-yard run by David Apiag.

The junior receiver took the speed sweep and made a couple of nice moves to get himself into the end zone. That score made it 28-0 with 6:38 left in the third.

Northside's final score came less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. A big highlight of the four-play, 86-yard drive was a 68-yard jaunt by Watts to the Kendrick 16.

Apiag scored on the next play for his second touchdown and the Robertson kick made it 35-0 with 10:22 left.

Watts finished the night with 26 carries for 225 yards and one score.

Apiag had four carries for 45 yards and two scores. The Patriot defense held Kendrick to less than 50 yards of total offense in the first half and allowed them into Northside territory on only one possession in the game.

Northside plays Spencer next week at Memorial, while Kendrick takes a wee off before hosting Jackson on September 11.Thursday at KinnettNorthside 14 7 7 7--35

Kendrick 0 0 0 0 --0First Quarter

N--Mike Byrd recovers fumble in end zone (Nathan Robertson kick), 4:53

N--Levi Dunn 5 run (Robertson kick), 0:03Second QuarterN--Kalan Watts 9 run (Robertson kick), 6:03Third QuarterN--David Apiag, 27 run (Robertson kick), 6:38Fourth QuarterN--Apiag 16 run (Robertson kick), 10:22

Team records: Northside 1-0. Kendrick 1-1. Next: Northside, vs. Spencer, Sept. 3, Memorial, 7 p.m. Kendrick, vs. Jackson, at Memorial, Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m.

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 10:26 PM with the headline "Northside opens season with shutout of Kendrick ."