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Chiefs cash in
Published October 13, 2008
North Jackson missed chance after chance Friday night against Guntersville.
But its last opportunity didn’t go to waste.
The visiting Class 4A, No. 4-ranked Chiefs (6-1, 5-0 in 4A Region 7) took advantage of a Guntersville miscue, scoring to take the lead with three minutes left and then holding on thanks to an interception to beat Guntersville 14-13 and extend their region winning streak to 27.
Normally even-keeled North Jackson head coach Shawn Peek ran 10 yards out on to the field, pumping his fists and screaming at the top of his lungs after Gary Lansden’s game-clinching interception with 41 seconds remaining.
“This win is so big for these kids. I know people have been on the some since the Fort Payne (loss). We didn’t have our best game, but if you can come to Guntersville and win that’s big.”
The game was tied 7-all at halftime, but Guntersville took a 13-7 lead on a Chris Daniel to Corey Cahill 41-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, one play after North Jackson’s third of four turnovers. But the usually steady Guntersville senior kicker Adrian Jaramillo was wide left on what turned out to be a costly PAT miss.
It looked like that might not come back to haunt Guntersville (5-2, 4-1), as the Wildcats defense kept North Jackson’s offense in check in the second half.
But another special teams miscue cost Guntersville. On a fourth-and-long, the Wildcats’ Gabe Roberts dropped the snap on a quick kick attempt and was tackled by Jovani Taylor for a 12-yard loss.
The play gave the Chiefs the ball at the Guntersville 31 and new life. Quarterback Will Richard threw to Tana Patrick for 17 yards, and A.J. Matthews followed with with runs of 6 and 3 yards to set up a third-and-1 at the Guntersville 5.
Matthews got the first down and more, crashing into the end zone to tie the game at 13 with 3:08 to play. L’neal Whitehead kicked the winning-PAT.
“Our kicker came through in the clutch,” Peek said. “L’neal said ‘coach it wasn’t pretty, and I just told him as long as it goes through those two posts.”
Guntersville didn’t go down quietly. The Wildcats lost 19 yards on first down of the ensuing possession, but were bailed out by a roughing the passer penalty on North Jackson.
Guntersville quarterback Chris Daniel followed with completions of 12, 14, 12 and 3 yards and then ran for 1 yard to get the Wildcats to the North Jackson 28. But after two straight incompletions, Daniel’s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Lansden, sparking a jubilant North Jackson celebration.
“When I caught it I felt like the weight of the world was lifted off us,” said Lansden of his first interception of the year. “This team battled the whole night.”
After a scoreless first quarter, North Jackson took a 7-0 lead when Taylor hauled in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Richard and Whitehead kicked the PAT at the 6:17 mark of the second quarter. Guntersville scored with 1:15 left in the half when Daniel hit Bridges with an 18-yard TD pass.
Richard was 19-of-26 passing for 164 yards, while Daniel was 18-of-25 for 198 yards for Guntersville. Taylor had six catches for 67 yards to lead the Chiefs, while Bridges had 10 catches for 100 yards for Guntersville. Matthews finished with 38 rushing yards for the Chiefs, who host region contender Plainview next week.
“To win a tough game like this,” Matthews said, “it just carries us on toward our goal of a region championship.”
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