Northside stays undefeated in region with 31-0 win over Hardaway
It was the tale of two opposites heading into Thursday night's region matchup between Hardaway and Northside at Kinnett Stadium. While the Hawks had dropped all three of their region games to date, the Patriots entered the contest with a 2-0 region record, having beaten Shaw and Harris County over the past two weeks by three points each.
That trend continued on Thursday, with Northside defeating Hardaway 31-0 in their homecoming game, one the Patriots controlled from their opening drive.
After Hardaway went three and out on their opening possession, the Patriots wasted no time in scoring. Senior quarterback Levi Dunn scored on a three-yard run to give Northside a 7-0 lead after a successful Nathan Robertson point-after kick. Senior running back Kalan Watts was also the workhorse in Northside's opening scoring drive, rushing five times for 46 yards.
Carson Parker put the Patriots up 14-0 on a six-yard rushing score later in the first quarter. On that drive, it was Dunn who provided much of the yardage, rushing for six yards then for another 36 on the following play to set Northside up first and goal prior to Parker's scoring run.
The first Northside drive of the second quarter featured a steady dose of Watts, and he capped the drive off with a one-yard run into the end zone to put the Patriots up 21-0.
The Hawks fumbled the ball on the first play of the ensuing possession, but managed to hold Northside to a 35-yard Robertson field goal and a 24-0 score. The remainder of the quarter was scoreless as both teams headed to the locker room for halftime.
Any homecoming jitters were quickly removed as David Apiag took the opening kickoff of the second half 94 yards for a touchdown, capping the scoring for the night. The game was expedited with a running clock in the fourth quarter courtesy of the Georgia High School Association mercy rule with a team leading by 30 or more points.
"It was huge to start the second half," Northside head coach Morgan Ingram said of the kickoff return. "We were worried at halftime about getting them motivated again after watching the homecoming festivities, but that return was a big boost for us."
The big lead also gave a chance for Ingram to spell the two-headed offensive monster of Dunn and Watts for much of the fourth quarter. Dunn finished with 12 rushes for 103 yards and a touchdown and added another 51 yards through the air on 3-of-10 passing. Watts finished with one reception for five yards and 16 rushes for 79 yards and a score.
"We're so senior-heavy with 20 seniors, it's always nice to get these juniors and sophomores more reps and to get (Dunn and Watts) some rest was important," said Ingram.
On the other side of the ball, Hardaway coach Jeff Battles saw some positives in his team holding Northside scoreless after the opening kickoff of the second half.
"We adjusted a little bit and didn't lay down after halftime," said Battles. "We made some offensive line adjustments at halftime and they came out and played well."
Both teams have the unique position of having the same opponent next: Columbus High School.
The Hawks will tangle with Columbus on Friday, Oct. 30 at Kinnett after a bye week next week. They close out the season on Thursday, Nov. 5 against Carver, also at Kinnett.
"We get to recover a little bit this coming week, which is much needed, and then we'll definitely be up for Columbus. That's always a good rivalry game," said Battles.
Northside will put their perfect 3-0 region record on the line next Friday against the Blue Devils at Kinnett, then will close out the season with region matchups against Carver at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Oct. 30, and LaGrange at Kinnett on Saturday, Nov. 7.
"I stress every day that we're not looking backward at what we've done; we're looking forward at what we have to do," said Ingram. "Being 3-0 is great, but starting tomorrow, we're 0-0 in my mind. We gotta keep looking at the next game as the biggest one. We're treating every game as a playoff game, which they kind of are in some way."
Thursday at Kinnett StadiumHardaway 0 0 0 0--0
Northside 14 10 7 0--31First Quarter
N-Levi Dunn 3 run (Nathan Robertson kick), 8:04.
N-Carson Parker 6 run (Robertson kick), 2:53.
Second Quarter
N-Kalan Watts 1 run (Robertson kick), 10:05.
N-Robertson 35 FG, 8:58.
Third Quarter
N-David Apiag 94 kickoff return (Robertson kick), 11:46.
Records: Hardaway 1-7, 0-4 Region 1-AAAAA; Northside 4-2, 3-0. Next: Hardaway at Columbus, Friday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m. at Kinnett; Northside vs. Columbus, Friday, Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m. at Kinnett.
This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 10:57 PM with the headline "Northside stays undefeated in region with 31-0 win over Hardaway ."