Southwest rises up against Northwest

DECATUR — After Southwest DeKalb recovered Northwest Whitfield’s game-opening onside kick, the Panthers converted a hook-and-lateral play for a 50-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.

From the very beginning, everyone at Panthersville Stadium knew it would be an uphill struggle for the Bruins.

That perception never changed and the No. 2-ranked Panthers scored on their first seven possessions and won easily, 40-3, on Friday in the opening round of the Class 4A state playoffs.

The Panthers, who eventually outgained the Bruins 292-68, built a 40-0 halftime lead and forced the Georgia High School Association’s running clock into play in the second half and breezed to the easy victory.

“I’m most proud tonight of the way our offense executed,” Panthers coach Buck Godfrey said.

“We worked hard all week and the players really bought into what we wanted to do.”

The Panthers (10-1), a No. 1 seed from Region 6-4A, advance to the second round and will host Clarke Central, which defeated Mays, 31-28.

Northwest finished the season at 7-4.

Though it wasn’t how the Bruins wanted their season to end, senior tight end/defensive end Nermin Delic voiced pride in what Northwest accomplished this year, including a five-game winning streak after losing two of three games to open the season.

“We worked hard all season long,” Delic said. “We had to work through a lot of adversity to finish the season strong and nobody even gave us a chance to make the playoffs. I felt like we did all we could to compete against this team, they’re one of the best in the state of Georgia.”

On the first play from scrimmage, Panthers quarterback Steven Coates threw an innocent enough 4-yard pass to Frederic Jackson. But Jackson flipped a lateral to Nicholas Barnett, who scampered 46 yards down the sideline untouched to score a mere 14 seconds into the game.

“We didn’t know that was going to be the first play, but (Panthers coach Buck Godfrey) called it and we scored on it,” said Coates, who completed 5 of 6 first-half passes to five different receivers for 83 yards and a score. Coates also rushed for a touchdown before calling it a night.

“After that, we knew we had the game in our hands,” Coates said.

The Bruins’ ensuing possession lasted two plays. After a false start penalty pushed them back 5 yards, quarterback Chad Keeter mishandled a snap out of the shotgun and the Panthers recovered.

Six plays later, Preston McCarthy’s 19-yard field goal — he also made a 47-yarder in the second quarter — put Southwest up 10-0.

All of Northwest’s first-half possessions ended in punts except for one. Keeter was intercepted by Eric Robinson, who returned it to the Bruins’ 2. Three plays later, Andre Jackson rushed 1 yard for a touchdown to give the Panthers a 24-0 lead with 2:11 remaining in the first quarter.

The Bruins managed just one first down, which came courtesy of a Panthers 5-yard offside penalty, in the disappointing first half.

Bruins senior running back Lance Andrews, who was Northwest’s leading rusher with 39 yards on 15 carries, said the Panthers’ defensive speed and athleticism was too much to overcome.

“They just followed their assignments and hit their holes like they needed to,” he said. “It would have been great to move on, but they were tough. They’re probably going to win the state championship.”

The lone bright spot for the Bruins was opening the second half with a 10-minute drive — thanks to a running clock — that covered 47 yards and lasted 14 plays. It ended with an Oscar Solarzano 37-yard field goal and the Bruins avoided the shutout.

“You saw what we were up against,” Bruins coach Mike Falleur said. “You’ve got to be perfect and we weren’t … I’m proud of the way our kids came back in the second half and battled, they never quit. I’m thankful for the leadership our seniors provided. And we got a lot of young guys that got to play and we’ve got to go to work and get better.”

PANTHERS 40, BRUINS 3

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Northwest Whitfield 0 0 3 0 — 3

Southwest DeKalb 24 16 0 0 — 40

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

SOU — Nicholas Barnett 46 pass from Frederick Jackson (Preston McCarthy kick), 11:46

SOU — FG McCarthy 19, 8:46

SOU — Jerome Lewis 5 run (McCarthy kick), 6:02

SOU — Andre Jackson 1 run (McCarthy kick), 2:11

Second Quarter

SOU — Steven Coates 1 run (kick failed), 9:32

SOU —Euquen Ayers 5 pass from Coates (McCarthy kick), 6:19

SOU — FG McCarthy 47, 1:34

Third Quarter

NOR — FG Oscar Solarzaon 37, 1:44

YARDSTICK

NOR SOU

First Downs 6 9

Rushes-Yds. 31-36 21-143

Passing Yds. 32 149

Com.-Att.-Int. 2-6-1 7-12-0

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0

Punts-Avg 4-29 2-31

Penalties-Yds. 1-5 9-60

Turnovers 2 0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Northwest: Lance Andrews 15-39, Nathan Sistrunk 5-11, Mike Martin 5-8, Chad Keeter 3-minus 4, Jordan Darnell 2-minus 1, Wesley Bell 1-minus 17; Southwest: Jerome Lewis 3-87, Steven Coates 5-19, Toran Davis 5-17, Gary Benton 1-7, Demarcus Jackson 1-6, Nicholas Barnett 1-3, Isaac Bee 1-minus 4

PASSING — Northwest: Keeter 1-4-1 17, Darnell 1-2-0 15; Southwest: Coates 5-6-0 83, Frederick Jackson 1-1-0 46, Jalil Young 1-5-0 20

RECEIVING — Northwest: Keeter 1-17, Martin 1-14; Southwest: Barnett 1-46, Timothy Horne 2-45, Davis 1-32, Jonathan Mincy 1-17, Euquen Meyers 1-5, Jackson 1-4

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