Big plays lift Northside over rival Columbus

Northside scored a pair of touchdowns in just 40 seconds midway through the fourth quarter to rally past Columbus 24-23 at Kinnett Stadium on Friday night.

The Patriots, who struggled on offense for the first three quarters, got a 35-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Valero to Cordale Scott to re-take the lead, then linebacker Dayshun Johnson returned an interception 14 yards for an eight-point lead, 24-16, with 5:40 left in the game.

But Columbus was not done.

The Blue Devils answered on the next play as Caleb Bailey hit Josh Lee for an 80-yard touchdown pass to close to within two. Columbus coach Phil Marino called timeout and decided to kick the PAT instead of trying for a 2-point conversion to tie the game with 5:27 remaining.

“I thought our defense was playing well enough,” Marino said. “I thought we could get the ball back and at least get into field-goal range. Even if we missed the 2-point conversion, a field goal would have still won it.”

The Blue Devils’ defense did its job and forced Northside to punt, and Terrance Dixon returned the punt 11 yards to to the Northside 46.

But after picking up one first down, Columbus bogged down and its hopes essentially ended when a long pass into the end zone fell to the ground.

“Our defense has played well enough for us to have won six games,” Marino said. “Our defense kept us in it. But our offense just gave them 17 points.”

One of those offensive mistakes came quickly as Bailey fumbled on the first play of the game and Northside’s Talon Gamble recovered at the Columbus 17. But the Patriots settled for a Nathan Robertson field goal for a 3-0 lead.

After forcing a punt, David Apiag returned it to 25 yards to the Columbus 31. Four plays later, Apiag took an end around in from 7 yards out for a 10-0 lead.

Bailey got Columbus on the board on a 1-yard dive over the goal line with 9:15 left in the second quarter, but the kick failed and Northside led 10-6.

Patrick Kitchens hit a 35-yard field goal with 1:03 left before halftime to pull the Blue Devils within one, 10-9.

Terrance Dixon set up Columbus’ go-ahead score with an interception and a 27-yard return to the Northside 33.

Ty Lucas covered the final 5 yards on fourth-and-2 for a 16-10 lead with 7:20 to go in the third quarter.

Valero was just 3-of-11 passing when the Patriots took over at its 35 with 8:48 left in the game. But after another incompletion, he found Carson Parker out of the backfield for a 17-yard pass. Four plays later, the Patriots faced a third-and-7 from the Columbus 35. Valero rolled slightly to his right and lofted a perfect pass that Scott ran under at the goal line.

“I trust Cordale so much,” Valero said. “He is a senior and I am a sophomore. I knew he would make that catch when I threw it to him.”

Northside coach Morgan Ingram said it was a play they tried multiple times during the game.

“We knew they were playing us man on the corners, and we have tall receivers,” Ingram said. “We knew we could throw it up. We overthrew three or four, but we felt like we would hit one and we finally did.”

On the second play of Columbus’ next possession, the Blue Devils called for a middle screen. Bailey’s pass was picked off by Johnson, who had an easy path into the end zone.

“(He) just sat on the screen,” Ingram said. “(It) couldn’t happen to a better kid. (It was just a) read on his part and a great play.”

Individual stats: Columbus — Rushing, Terrance Dixon 10-60, Ty Lucas 11-61, Karlton Williams 8-49. Passing, Caleb Bailey 2-7-1, 83 yards. Receiving, Josh Lee 1-80. Northside — Carson Parker 7-17. Passing, Bryce Valero 6-18-1, 119 yards. Receing, Cordale Scott 3-72. David Apiag 3-41.

Coach quote: “Exactly the way I expected it to be. One play here, one play there made the difference.” — Northside coach Morgan Ingram.

This story was originally published October 1, 2016 at 12:22 AM with the headline "Big plays lift Northside over rival Columbus."