By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Look at the scoreboard – Captain Shreve 49, Northwood 28 – and the immediate conclusion would be the Gators’ dual-threat offense overwhelmed the Class 4A Falcons Thursday night at Jerry Burton Memorial Stadium.
Not inaccurate, although it took a while for Shreve (2-1) to get in gear. But in a huge plot twist, the Gators’ historically porous defense made two pivotal plays, one that kept the Falcons from building a two-score lead and the other, a late game pick six, and shut out Northwood (1-2) nearly all of the second half.
That offense did roar to life. After stumbling and getting stuffed into the middle of the third quarter, the Gators scored the last five times they had the ball, and Jeremiah Powell’s 31-yard interception runback added to what became a devastating 42-7 blast.
Remember that defense? It didn’t give up a point in the game’s final 20 minutes. Northwood’s last touchdown was a 94-yard Keylun Turner kickoff return that briefly got the Falcons back in it, down 35-28 with 3:25 left.
First-year co-defensive coordinator Caleb Guidry, part of 27 playoff teams at four area schools including 15 seasons as head coach (1998-2012) at Benton, said Shreve had to plug in some youngsters for injured starters.
“It was rough in the first half with them, and then they learned as we moved on. We found a way to start fitting better up front, and then that took some weight off our secondary. We turned it into a heavyweight boxing match in the second half, and we ended up winning it,” he said.
Gators third-year head coach Jeremy Wilburn, whose focus is on the offensive side, credited those much-maligned defenders – who were dominated at times through the first half and change.
“They’ve taken a lot of stuff for the last two years, right?” said Wilburn. “It was good for them to get out here and perform really well and have some success, and I’m super proud of them.”
Staring at a two-TD deficit shortly after halftime following a dominant eight-play, 53-yard Northwood drive finished by Justin Dupree’s 5-yarder, Shreve got off the floor and scored on its next five series.
“You just don’t flinch,” Wilburn said. “We have a gritty group of kids — up 21-7, down 21-7, they are going to keep fighting.”
After getting back in it, the Gators scored 30 points in an astonishing 2:23 span late in the game, erasing a 21-19 deficit.
It was triggered by a defensive gem. Sophomore cornerback William Prim batted away a fourth-down pass at the goalline that would have given Northwood a two-score advantage with 9:36 remaining.
Instead, Shreve pounded downfield, 94 yards on 13 plays over the next 5:10, and took the lead when Maddox Parrott faked a handoff to the left to 161-yard rusher Gabe Lockett, rolled right and tossed a 5-yard TD to a wide open Kaleb Law. The Gators ran a halfback pass from Demarion Lowery to Chris Hill for a two-point conversion and a 27-21 edge at the 4:26 mark.
Two snaps later, it was 35-21. Just as Northwood quarterback Peyton Boone was releasing a pass, defensive end Elijah Turner slammed into him, knocking the ball end-over-end a few yards downfield. Jeremiah Powell, who had dropped an interception earlier, didn’t bobble this one, looked right and curled down the Falcons’ sideline on a 31-yard pick six.
“I had to catch the ball. It was a game-winning play, or not a game-winning play,” said Powell. “I dropped the first pick I had, so I had to come get the second one. Then I thought, ‘I gotta score.’”
Northwood counterpunched with Turner’s kickoff return TD, but two plays later, Lockett popped free down the left hashmarks on a 51-yarder rebuilding the two-TD lead, 42-28, with 3:02 left.
That Gator defense didn’t give up a first down on Northwood’s last chance. On the next play at the Falcons’ 25, in the fullback spot, Gaven Reynolds raced in to salt it away with 2:03 remaining.
Captain Shreve will carry the momentum of that second-half surge into its District 1-5A opener next Friday at Haughton. Northwood has a non-district visit from Loyola.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com