If the heartbreak of an overtime loss the previous week wasn’t enough, Northside suffered its second helping of agony Friday at Coffee.
To set the stage in the Eagles 14-12 loss: They had the ball on their own 15 with just over four minutes left to play, and they were trailing 14-6.
What had gone before was a fumble on their first possession of the game that the Trojans recovered on the eight and turned into a six-yard touchdown from quarterback Wade Sumner to Dalrone Donaldson. Jose Rodriguez’s point after quickly made it 7-0.
After a Northside punt, Coffee then took the ball and went 88 yards on 11 plays for its second score. The drive ended with Sumner taking it in from the 7. Rodriguez made it 14-0, which is where it stood after one.
Both punted before the Eagles finally got on the board. They went 10 plays and 72 yards before stalling and giving way to Cory Munson. He split the uprights from 26 yards out.
An interception by Marcelle Griffin on the Trojans’ next possession gave him another opportunity from 29 yards out. He was his accurate self. That cut it to 14-6, which is where it stood at the half.
Both offenses picked up a first down here and there in the third – Northside even got close enough for Munson to attempt a 50 yarder (but it was short) – but the defenses were in bend-but-don’t-break mode.
An interception by Tubby McCall gave the Eagles another shot, but after getting it to the Coffee 13, they were unable to convert on a fourth-and-four.
After a Trojans punt, Northside again got close enough to try a field goal. This time it was from 49 yards out and this time it was just as short.
Coffee punted and there they were. On the 15. Four minutes and five seconds left to play. They picked up three hard first downs before being faced with what looked like an insurmountable fourth-and-16. Not for quarterback Jadin Daniels. Initially he wanted to pass, but when the Trojans forced him out of the pocket, he turned it up he field. He was brought down at the 30. First down. The clock displayed 2:08.
From there the Eagles continued to chip away. Two pass interference calls proved critical and finally gave them the ball on the 3. Daniels ran it in from there.
Needing the two points, they obviously went for it, but were forced out of bounds short of the goal line.
The win dropped them to 1-2 in Region 1-AAAAAA, 6-3 overall. Coffee improved to 2-0, 5-2.
MCDONALD’S OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME JADIN DANIELS. PAPA JOHN’S DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME MARCELLE GRIFFIN.
