The first half of Friday night’s high school football game between Cave Spring and Northside would have been the perfect scenario for some car insurance advertising.
There were plenty of mishaps.
Fortunately for Northside, the Vikings were the team that got their wheels back on track after the halftime break to pull away for the 37-13 win at Dwight Bogle Stadium.
Northside kept shooting itself in the foot during the first quarter, fumbling away the ball on a botched double-lateral and coughing up the ball after the kickoff following Cave Spring’s first touchdown midway through the opening twelve minutes.
But, the Knights failed to convert on two other golden opportunities deep in Viking territory and the stingy Northside defense, along with an offense that suddenly came to life for four touchdowns in the second half, proved to be the undoing for Cave Spring.
Cave Spring had gone on top with just over six minutes left in the first, when senior quarterback Lucas Duncan, operating out of a third-and-25 situation, rolled to his left and found clear sailing 67 yards down the left sideline for the game’s first score. The blocked point-after left the Knights up 6-0.
With 6:35 to go in the second quarter, Northside senior running back Christian Fisher got the Vikings on the scoreboard with a 16-yard run to the left pylon, the first Northside score of the season after their 14-0 loss to Pulaski County in week-one. Jeremiah Peterson’s conversion gave the Vikings the 7-6 lead, and one they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the night. That score stood to the halftime break.
Northside took control in the third quarter, sandwiching a 45-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Sidney Webb to senior Isaac Earls and a 5-yard touchdown run by Jaden Harrison around a safety produced by the Viking defense. Northside led 23-6 heading to the final 12 minutes.
Fisher added touchdown runs of 28 and 86 yards in the fourth quarter sandwiched around Cave Spring’s 16-yard touchdown pass from Duncan to junior wide receiver Daniel Reeves.
Northside dominated in the rushing game, with 249 yards compared to Cave Spring’s 123. The Viking offense picked up 16 first downs while the Northside defense held the Knights to six.
Northside will return to Bogle Stadium next Friday night to take on undefeated Hidden Valley, while Cave Spring will look for its first win of the season when the Knights travel to 0-2 Glenvar to take on the Highlanders.
Bill Turner
