Ware Co defeats Northside to advance to GHSA AAAAA championship game

mbrown@sunmulti.com

Just that there was an overtime is a miracle unto itself.

Still, the Northside High Eagles – for the second year in a

row – came one win shy of reaching the GHSA state football finals. At Memorial Stadium

in Waycross Friday, the Gators of Ware County High handed Northside its first

and only loss of the 2012 season 24-17 after one overtime session.

So Ware County advances to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta this

weekend for the GHSA Class AAAAA championship game. The Gators’ opponent is

Gainesville High, who knocked off Whitewater in the other semifinal.

As was the case in the quarterfinals against Tucker High –

held on Nov. 30 at McConnell-Talbert Stadium – the Eagles of head coach Kevin

Kinsler found themselves batting from behind for most of the physical struggle

with Ware County. Unlike that heart-stopping finish with Tucker, Northside

never had a lead on the Gators, winners of now 13 games in a row.

Courageous efforts from the likes of an Isaac Rivera, a

junior placekicker/punter with an injured knee, were countered by untimely

penalties. The Eagles also drove the football 90 yards when down by 10 points

in the final three minutes. When it looked like the touchdown pass from Glenn

Smith to Justin Burnam would only serve to make it a respectable margin,

Kinsler’s special teams unit pulled off one of the best onside kick recoveries

ever to be seen.

At the half, Ware County held a slim 10-7 lead and knew it

would be kicking off to Northside to begin the third quarter. That drive for

the Eagles began on their 20, then Keshun Hill, the senior running

back/receiver hybrid, turned nothing into something with nifty running to his

right. It was a gain of 27 yards to his 48-yard-line.

Kinsler and his staff obviously talked about adjustments

during the break, because in all of this first drive the offensive line had two

tight ends (Marquailis Kitchens and Jaleel Morris) and a fullback, Willie

Jordan, in the I-formation. Either Hill or Robert Davis stood way outside as

the lone receiver.

Curtis Martin took five straight carries, reversing his

field one time to get 22 yards on the Ware 25. At 8:06, officials ruled that

Martin came up half a yard short of a first down, so it was fourth down on the

15 ½.

Kinsler sent John Tignor in for a tying field goal try of

32-yards. Ware got a hand on the football, and it sailed far enough to hit the

bottom bar.

The Gators took over on their 20 and proceeded to march

their way to the 10-point margin. Thanks to linebacker Trey Payne, head coach

Ed Dudley had a call to make on 3^rd-and-13. Receiver Isa Rowe ran a

deep route over the middle and caught Jammar Johnson’s pass over his shoulder.

At first down on the Eagle 43, tailback Xavier Tobler shot

through a hole, stumbled a little bit in the secondary, but was able to

maintain his footing enough to score at 5:41.

Now down 17-7, the Eagles drove into Gator ground when the

quarterback Smith slipped through tackles for 18 yards to the 50. Hill bounced

outside and had a nine-yard gain up to the Ware 36. While a procedure penalty

set the ball back to the 40, Northside could not get another first. Rivera

punted the football to the 19.

At the start of the fourth period, the Gators advanced to

the 33, but punted away on fourth down to the Eagle 34. Morris caught a short

first-down pass on the 44, and Martin’s run of nine yards again had the

visitors over the 50 on the Gator 43.

Resembling former Michigan Heisman Trophy winner Charles

Woodson, Ware cornerback Carlton Jenkins leapt to make his second pass

interception of the game by the home sidelines. The Gators had the football on

their 18 and eight whole minutes still to play.

Northside lost a lot of time on the ensuing offensive

series, but more importantly a defensive starter due to an ejection. Early in

the drive, end A.J. Banks continued an outstanding game with a stop on Johnson

for 3^rd-and-8. Ware called timeout, and then Johnson pitched the

option to Tobler. His gain was 16 yards for a first down.

The Gators were at midfield when a personal foul (and

ejection) moved everyone down to the Eagle 35. But with two penalties on the

home team, Ware was back to the Eagle 48 and punted to the 10.

With about three minutes left, Smith was in full passing

mode. He completed nine throws in the scoring series that ended with 20 seconds

on the clock. In all, the Eagles picked up six first downs, with a few on

fourth-down plays.

It was 4^th-and-3 on the Ware 36 as Charlton Lane

caught a little six-yard hitch. One more time, the Eagles needed something to

happen – not necessarily big – on 4^th-and-3 when Smith’s keeper run

picked up four, the clock now down below one minute.

Hill’s fourth catch – on the 7 – made it 1^st-and-goal.

Burnam was open for a touchdown, and Tignor put through the PAT for 17-14.

If Ware’s packed stands were not concerned about the slimmer

margin, they had to be thinking of an onsides kick. Tignor didn’t just look to

tap the football 10 yards; he bashed it hard and on the ground, and out of a

pile on the Gator 24 officials ruled Northside had it. With 12.3 seconds

showing, it was Rivera on the field setting up for a 40-yard field goal, which

was plenty good in distance and accuracy.

Ware County had the first overtime possession at the

15-yard-line. Tobler gained 10 on the first snap. The touchdown came on third

down, but afterwards the Eagles received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike flag.

Northside’s offense had to start, then, from the 30. Brian

Dyson caught a pass on the 19, but his team got no closer than the 15 in three

more plays.

As the game began, the Gators looked prime to get on the

scoreboard early with two first-down passes by Johnson. He threw deep to the

sidelines on his left for 26 yards at the Eagle 32, and then ran a keeper 12

yards for a first on the 17.

Austin Roberts stuffed a counter play on the 15, and Banks

trailed Johnson to force a short pass completion. Safety Marquez Moore cut down

Tobler on a catch for five lost yards. Ware’s field goal try of 36 yards missed

wide right.

Northside went three-and-out for its first series, Cameron

Gibson of the Gators dropping a potential pick. The punt went to the Ware 43,

and in one snap Tobler found a seam for a rush of 45 yards on the Eagle 12.

Linebacker Thomas Brown gave Johnson a hit on the 9, and

Roberts stopped another counter on the 8. On third down, Johnson found his

receiver outside, and the fight to the pylon resulted in a touchdown at 4:15.

In 10 plays, the Eagle offense answered by covering 69 yards

with three third-down conversions. Hill ran five yards on 3^rd-and-1,

but on the Eagle 47 it was 3^rd-and-8. Smith’s throw to Hill was 16

yards on the Gator 37.

Early in the second quarter, Smith dumped a short pass to

Martin on 3^rd-and-5. The play gained 15, keeping the drive going at

the 17. From there, Smith scrambled his way barely over the line, but enough

for six. Tignor added the seventh at 10:38.

Payne’s and Brown’s defense not only stopped Ware in three

downs, but looked to set up good field position. But from the 34, the Gator

punt rolled to the Eagle 18. Field position instead favored the home team as

Northside next punted to the Gator 44.

For five straight possessions, neither side made a first

down. It was Jenkins’ first interception that broke up the monotony and put

Ware in position for a lead on the Eagle 24. Banks and Moore, however, pushed

the hosts back to the 27 for third down.

Gordon Dudley’s catch over the middle gained 14 yards for

first on the 13, still two minutes until the half. Two stops from Banks,

though, took away three yards. Seth Starling’s 33-yard field goal at 0:41

staked Ware to the halftime edge.

 

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