North Cross Prevails 32-28 in Shootout with Blessed Sacrament

North Cross #7 Brandon Cochran breaks into the open for a Raider gain.

Fans at North Cross Thomas Field certainly got their money’s worth Friday afternoon as the Raiders downed rival Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot 32-28 in a game that saw the teams score in every conceivable manner with an amazing total of 10 lead changes. Despite 60 combined points, the largest lead by either team for the contest was five points.

The back and forth first half ended with a 13-12 Knights lead due mainly to Blessed Sacrament’s edge in the kicking game. North Cross scored two touchdowns in the opening half, only to fail on both PAT conversions. Blessed Sacrament found the end zone once, but the extra point along with two field goals by Nathan Temple accounted for the one-point edge heading to the locker room.

North Cross opened the second half scoring on quarterback Thomas Weaver’s 4-yard keeper. A two-point conversion try was thwarted and the Raiders led by five, 18-13. Blessed Sacrament roared back. Deon Watts broke free for a 55-yard TD run and, with another Temple conversion, the Knights were up 20-18. Forced to punt on their next possession, an errant Raider snap sailed into the end zone as Blessed Sarament tacked on a safety to up their lead to 22-18.

The North Cross defense came to the rescue late in the third as Spencer Shaff intercepted an underthrown Knight pass and raced 34 yards down the right sideline for the Raider score. Micajah Lacy added the PAT and North Cross took a 25-22 lead heading to the final quarter.

North Cross held on Blessed Sacrament’s first possession in the fourth quarter. But, after getting the ball back, Weaver lobbed a pass into the flat that was picked off by the speedy Watts and returned 52 yards for a Blessed Sacrament score. After the conversion hit the upright, the Knights were up 28-25.

North Cross took the ensuing kickoff and worked the ball downfield before Raider running back Antoine Martin rumbled in from eight yards out. Lacy’s conversion made it 32-28 with just over 7 minutes left. The North Cross defense made the lead stand as the Raiders won their second straight and improved to 2-1 on the season. Martin ended up with 227 rushing yards for the game. George Revercomb came off the Raider bench and ignited the North Cross defense in the second half with several key tackles that disrupted the Knight’s attack.

North Cross returns to Thomas Field Friday afternoon (Sept. 17th) for a 4:30 kickoff against Bishop Sullivan Catholic.

By Bill Turner
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