Big play ignites Jackets over Bruins

MARIETTA — One snowball was all it took to set off an avalanche.

Shortly before the first quarter ended Friday night at Jim Frazier Stadium, Northwest Whitfield had Sprayberry backed up to its own 2 and appeared to have forced a three-and-out after Yellow Jackets quarterback Jerick McKinnon’s pass sailed 5 feet over the intended receiver and well out of bounds.

However, a pass interference call kept Sprayberry’s drive alive and three plays later McKinnon hit D.J. Funderburg from 15 yards out for a 70-yard touchdown to turn momentum toward the Yellow Jackets early in the second quarter of a 28-7 win against the Bruins.

The Jackets added two more touchdowns in the quarter and another in the third, but the Bruins — who sputtered on offense — avoided the shutout with Nermin Delic’s 20-yard fumble return for a touchdown after Sprayberry botched a punt snap with a minute left in the Region 7-4A crossover game.

Delic, who in the first quarter blocked a punt to set up the Bruins (1-2) on the Jackets’ 32, believes that although the momentum shifted to Sprayberry (1-2) after the pass interference call, there are no excuses for the way his team played after that.

“The turning point in the game was that pass interference call,” said Delic, a 6-foot-4-inch, 240 senior who committed to Maryland in July. “But it’s our fault because you have to overcome adversity and we didn’t. All I can say is we need to step it up next time.”

Northwest’s first four possessions ended in punts, and its next two ended in turnovers from quarterback Chad Keeter, the first a fumble and the second an interception.

Sprayberry capitalized on both miscues with Robert Bailey touchdown runs of 20 and 15 yards.

Sprayberry went into halftime leading 21-0.

“Offensively, it was just a lack of execution,” Bruins coach Mike Falleur said. “On one play we’d miss a block, on another we’d lineup wrong. We’ve got to get better.

“We just self-destructed. Sprayberry is a very good football team and they’re talented, and you can’t do that against people like that.”

Northwest’s best scoring opportunity came with a minute left in the first half and the Bruins down three scores. They started on their own 20 and moved to the Jackets’ 8. But with 30 seconds left and the Bruins facing third-and-goal from the 9, Keeter was sacked for a 9-yard loss. Oscar Solarzano missed a 36-yard field goal with 13 seconds left, and the Bruins never saw the red zone again.

The Bruins were led by Jordan Darnell’s 35 rushing yards on five carries. Mike Martin had seven carries for 22 yards.

Keeter finished 5-for-14 for 68 yards, with receivers Wesley Bell catching two passes for 36 yards and Zach Sloan catching two for 35. Tyler Painter relieved Keeter in the third quarter and was 5-for-12 for 37 yards.

For the Jackets, McKinnon finished 5-for-10 passing for 124 yards and Funderburg had three catches for 86 yards.

YELLOW JACKETS 28, BRUINS 7

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NOR 0 0 0 7 – 7

SPR 0 21 7 0 – 28

SCORING SUMMARY

Second Quarter

SPR – D.J. Funderburg 70 pass from Jerick McKinnon (Paul Bailey kick), 10:36.

SPR – Robert Bailey 20 run (P. Bailey kick), 6:43.

SPR – R. Bailey 15 run (P. Bailey kick), 5:03.

Third Quarter

SPR – Alex Kinnard 47 run (P. Bailey kick), 3:06.

Fourth Quarter

NOR – Nermin Delic 21 fumble return (Oscar Solarzano kick), 1:06.

YARDSTICK

NOR SPR

First Downs 14 8

Rushes-Yds 34-76 22-99

Passing yards 105 114

Com-Att-Int 10-24-1 9-16-2

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0

Punts-Avg 5-28.2 5-25.2

Penalties-Yds 2-25 10-91

Turnovers 2 2

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Northwest: Jordan Darnell 5-35, Mike Martin 7-22, Lance Andrews 7-16, Tyler Shepard 3-4, Chad Keeter 13-4; Sprayberry: Robert Bailey 7-45, Alex Kinnard 4-40, P.J. Stone 2-8, Jerick McKinnon 7-3, Joshua Moody 1-2, Marcus King 1-1.

PASSING – Northwest: Keeter 5-14 68, Shepard 5-11 37, Darnell 0-1 0; Sprayberry: McKinnon 5-10 124, Kinnard 4-6 30.

RECEIVING – Northwest: Wesley Bell 2-36, Zach Sloan 2-35, Tyler Painter 2-23, Tyler Arnold 1-11, Cameron Crump 1-5, Darnell 1-0, Keeter 1-minus 5; Sprayberry: D.J. Funderburg 4-86, Stone 2-45, Justin Montgomery 2-19, King 1-4.

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