Bruins like view from top

Beat Chiefs for No. 1 in league

By Adam Krohn

CANTON — As far as Northwest Whitfield is concerned, it’s the Bruins against the world.

But after a 14-3 victory over Sequoyah in Sub-region 7A-4A play on Friday night at Skip Pope Stadium, the Bruins — they claimed sole possession of the sub-region lead with the win — appear comfortable in that role.

“Nobody gave us a chance,” Bruins defensive end Nermin Delic said. “But we did what we were supposed to do and we just shocked the world.”

Northwest will now play Dalton next Friday in the sub-region finale in Tunnel Hill. If Dalton wins that game, it would create a three-way tie between the Bruins, Chiefs and Catamounts for first-place in the sub-region. All three teams would have 5-1 records. Bruins coach Mike Falleur said the tiebreaker is margin of victory in all sub-region games, but margins of victory of more than 14 still only count as 14.

The Bruins (6-2, 5-0) were led Lance Andrews’ 138 rushing yards on eight carries, including a 51-yard scoring run in the first quarter to give the Bruins a 7-0 lead. He also had a 60-yard run in the third quarter that led to Jordan Darnell’s 12-yard touchdown run three plays later.

“The cutback lanes were open all night,” Andrews said. “The defense was shifting a lot to our strong side, so once they shifted I knew there was going to be a cutback lane and I just hit it and ran.”

The Bruins defense, which has been solid all season, forced five turnover-on-downs, including on a crucial fourth-and-eight on the Northwest 12 late in the fourth quarter. They also recovered a fumble on their own 14 to stop the Chiefs’ 10-play, 58-yard drive in the second quarter. Brien Bush’s interception of Chiefs quarterback Ben Rogers with just more than a minute left in the game killed any hope Sequoyah had.

“Nobody gives us a chance,” Falleur said. “They’re not going to give us a chance next week. I mean, Dalton’s got great players. When you look at them they have Division I players all over the field, but we’re going to show up and give it our best shot. I know one thing, these kids are going to show up to play next Friday night.”

In his return from a season-long suspension, Chiefs running back Dominique Swope rushed for a team-high 138 yards on 19 carries, but Bruins defensive end Nermin Delic said it was a team effort to keep Swope out of the end zone, and also hold the Chiefs (5-3, 4-1) to a second-quarter field goal.

“It was all execution,” said Delic, who made a critical sack for a 9-yard loss late in the fourth quarter. “Everyone was doing their job and staying motivated. It’s all about doing your job every play without being selfish.”

Andrews’ scoring run with 8:43 left in the first half capped a three-play drive that lasted just more than a minute. On the play before Andrews’ run, Bruins quarterback Chad Keeter (13 carries, 53 yards) broke a 17-yard run.

On the Chiefs’ next possession, they drove to the Northwest 14 when Rogers couldn’t land on a fumble after a bad snap and the Bruins recovered. After a Bruins three-and-out, the Chiefs responded with a 28-yard field goal from Shawn Wortham with 38 seconds left in the half.

Keeter threw an interception early in the third quarter to give Sequoyah the ball on its own 19. But Wortham later missed a 44-yard field goal and the Bruins responded with their second scoring drive.

The drive lasted just four plays and was set up by Andrews’ 60-yard run on the first play. Darnell, who sat out last week’s game against Rome with the flu, punched the ball in on third down from 12 yards out.

The Bruins recovered an onside kick after the score, but Keeter threw his second interception late in the third quarter when he tried to pitch the ball to a Bruins runner in a backfield crowded by Sequoyah defenders.

However, the Bruins stopped Sequoyah a yard short of a first down on the Northwest 4 at the start of the fourth quarter, ending a 40-yard Sequoyah drive.

The Chiefs would never get a better scoring chance.

“We were down in Bruins territory six or seven times and only came away with three points,” Chiefs coach Jim Teter said. “If we get anything there, it’s a different ballgame and a different mentality.”

Though the Chiefs came up short, Swope was just happy to be back on the field.

“It feels great,” he said. “I just wish we would have come out with a W. It’s been hard, it’s been rough, but luckily I’m back out here.”

BRUINS 14, CHIEFS 3

SCORE BY QUARTERS

North Whitfield 0 7 7 0 — 14

Rome 0 3 0 0 — 3

SCORING SUMMARY

Second Quarter

NOR — Lance Andrews 41 run (Oscar Solarzano kick), 8:43

SEQ — FG Shawn Wortham 28, 0:38

Third Quarter

NOR — Jordan Darnell 12 run (Solarzano kick), 2:26

YARDSTICK

NOR SEQ

First Downs 10 22

Rushes-Yds. 30-225 41-206

Passing Yds. 18 155

Com.-Att.-Int. 2-5-1 11-29-1

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-1

Punts-Avg 4-38.75 0-0

Penalties-Yds. 4-40 4-25

Turnovers 2 2

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Northwest: Lance Andrews 8-138, Chad Keeter 14-56, Jordan Darnell 4-18, Mike Martin 4-13; Sequoyah: Dominique Swope 19-138, Kirk Medas 10-42, Tim Swanny 8-25, Ben Rogers 3-minus 2, Dalton Trevino 1-minus 1

PASSING — Northwest: Keeter 2-5-1 18; Sequoyah: Rogers 11-29-1 155

RECEIVING — Northwest: Darnell 1-10, Tyler Painter 1-8; Rome: A.J. Howard 4-75, Swanny 5-61, Brandon Alexander 1-14, Medas 1-5