Latest Sports Tweets
Northside Defense Limits Har-Ber
Last updated Saturday, October 4, 2008 12:15 AM CDT in Prep Sports
By Jonathan W. Gipson
SPECIAL TO THE MORNING NEWS
Related Photos
FORT SMITH -- Apparently, Fort Smith Northside's defense is better than advertised.
After allowing 36 points per game during their first four games, the Grizzlies held the Springdale Har-Ber's high-powered offensive in check, collecting five sacks and forcing two turnovers in a 21-7 upset of the the Wildcats on Friday at Mayo-Thompson Stadium.
McElwee had four sacks and tipped a pass by Wilcats quarterback Zach Faust that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Northside linebacker Semaj Edwards late in the fourth quarter to keep the Grizzlies unbeaten in 7A-West play.
"He made his mind up in the offseason in the weight room to be the kind of player he is. He has just been focused," said Northside coach Darrell Henry of McElwee. "He just kept his motor running."
McElwee was the spark behind a Grizzlies defense that forced the Wildcats to punt nine times and held them to 293 yards of total offense -- more than 150 yards less than their average.
"He got after us and did an outstanding job," Har-Beer coach Chris Wood said. "They have a lot of height on the edges. They just did a really good job defensively. They stayed consistent. They would bend a little here or there, but they never broke."
Har-Ber (4-1, 1-1) led 7-0 until Northside (4-1, 2-0) tied the game on their second drive of the third quarter. Edwards capped a 10-play, 52-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 7:33 left in the quarter.
Northside took the lead for good late in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard keeper by Grizzlies quarterback Dax Dupire with 2:57 left, which was plenty of time for the normally quick-striking Wildcats offense to mount a comeback.
After not committing a turnover for three-plus quarters, the Wildcats committed two in the final three minutes.
A bad snap on a direct snap to running back Derek Brinker was recovered by Northside's Alonzo Releford at the Northside 39 on the Wildcats' ensuing drive. And after forcing Northside to punt with under a minute to play, Faust was intercepted by Edwards, who scored on a 30-yard runback.
"Their two defensive ends got after us pretty good," Woods said. "They really set the tone by stopping our run."
Brinker still finished with 23 carries for 129 yards, but the Wildcats rushed for only 88 yards as team. Faust was 11-of-29 passing for 205 yards with one interception.
Har-Ber's defense contained Northside's offense most of the night, allowing only 182 yards of total offense and forcing the Grizzlies to punt 12 times. Dupire was only 21-of-38 passing for 129 yards.
"We just didn't get the job done offensively," Wood said.
Har-Ber didn't earn its first first down until the 11:37 mark of the second quarter when Kaleb Vaughn hauled in a 15-yard pass from Faust on second-and-10 from the Wildcats 28.
That was the second play of what turned into 13-play, 72-yard scoring march by the Wildcats that Faust topped off with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Josh McKinney with 7:13 left in the half.
It was the only first-half offensive highlight for Faust, who was only 8-of-20 passing for 98 yards. The Wildcats had only 121 yards of total offense in the first half and was forced to punt five times.
Still, that was good enough for the Wildcats to take a halftime lead.
The Wildcats held the Grizzlies to only 47 yards of total offense -- all but six yards came through the air -- and only three first downs. Dupire was just 8-of-20 passing for 41 yards.
GAMEBREAKER
WHY THE GRIZZLIES WON
The Northside defense sacked Springdale Har-Ber quarterback five times and forced two turnovers, the last leading to a 30-yard touchdown.
WHY THE WILDCATS LOST
After not committing a turnover for three-plus quarters, Springdale Har-Ber turned the ball over twice in the final three minutes while only trailing 14-7.
7A-WEST CONFERENCE
FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE 21, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 7
Har-Ber 0 7 0 0 -- 7
Northside 0 0 7 14 -- 21
Second Quarter
Har -- McKinney 14 pass from Faust (Escobar kick), 7:13
Third Quarter
Nor -- Edwards 2 run (Morehart kick), 7:33
Fourth Quarter
Nor -- Dupire 1 run (Morehart kick), 2:57
Nor -- Edwards 30 interception return (Morehart kick), 0:26
Har Nor
First downs 16 13
Rushes-yards 33-88 30-62
Passing 205 129
Comp-Att-Int 11-29-1 21-38-0
Punts-Avg. 9-37.1 12-32.4
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-Yard 3-20 3-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Har-Ber, Brinker 23-129, Tyler 2-6, Faust 8-(minus) 39, Team 1-(minus) 8. Northside, Dupire 19-26, Edwards 6-15, Carter 3-14, Poole 1-7, McKinney 1-0.
PASSING -- Har-Ber, Faust 11-29-1-205. Northside, Dupire 21-38-0-129 .
RECEIVING -- Har-Ber, Nicholson 2-46, Vaughn 2-35, McKinney 2-30, Taylor 2-29, Brinker 2-16, Moser 1-19. Northside, Roberts 14-30, Johnsson 5-48, Poole 5-23, Edwards 3-15, Carter 1-3, McNalley 1-5.
MISSED FIELD GOAL -- Har-Ber, Escobar 40 (short).
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
