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MCDERMOTT — Northwest didn’t feel like it was a crossroads entering Friday night. But it felt like a must-win situation.
It all came down to timely plays and a ‘bend but don’t break’ defense. The Mohawks were dragged into deep waters, but kept their heads above water and prevailed, scoring a 19-11 victory over Vinton County.
“Our guys played through a lot of adversity and battled hard for 48 minutes. This was just what we needed after falling at the buzzer last week,” Northwest coach Bill Crabtree said. “We still have some guys who are banged up and got banged up throughout the game. But when push came to shove, they checked themselves right back in to finish the game and that says a lot about what this game and the team means to them.”
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
Both teams punted on their first drives, and then Northwest (4-3) found its big play.
Facing 3rd and 4, Carter Runyon got a handoff and took it 73 yards for a touchdown, putting his team ahead 7-0.
Vinton County (2-5) attempted to answer, and pieced together a drive that took the offense to the NW 1-yard line.
But the Mohawks’ defense got a stop and made the Vikings settle for a 20-yard field goal from Cooper Hayburn, cutting the lead to 7-3, a score that remained at halftime.
Despite not having much momentum on their side, the Vikings opened the third quarter by taking the fight to the Mohawks. After back-to-back big runs from Clayton Lester and Lane Haybron, it was Haybron who closed the drive with an eight-yard touchdown that gave the Vikings an 11-7 lead.
Both teams then traded possessions and fourth down stops, but Northwest still had more in the gas tank to use.
PHOTOS: Images from Northwest’s win over Vinton County
The Mohawks pieced a drive together and on the first play of the fourth quarter, Runyon found the end zone from three yards out to give NW a 13-11 lead.
“We talked during halftime and the main thing was that we were playing dead with no energy whatsoever,” Runyon said. “We made it a point to come out in the second half with more excitement and guys were starting to hit, the fans were getting excited and we fed off of that.”
Still, the Vikings had a chance to answer. On the first play of their next drive, Lester found an alley and sprinted 71 yards before being caught at NW’s 9-yard line.
However, the Mohawks’ defense was up to the challenge again.
They held their ground on first and second downs before netting a six-yard loss on third down, forcing a 28-yard field goal attempt, which ended up hooking left to keep the score intact.
Northwest continued to chew up valuable time, picking up a pair of critical first downs before Colton Campbell sealed the deal with a 26-yard touchdown run in the final minute to put the win officially on ice.
“The offensive line had a perfect block across the board, so they deserve a lot of the credit as well,” Campbell said. “Carter also had a great block to get me into the end zone. It was a complete team play.”
Runyon finished with 22 carries for 142 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Mohawks, while Campbell added 13 carries for 92 yards and a score.
Lester finished the night with 19 carries for 171 yards for Vinton County, while Haybron ended with eight carries for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Northwest returns to action on Friday at Portsmouth West, while Vinton County travels to River Valley for TVC action.
“Our defense had two great stops in the red zone, and that ended up being the difference in the game,” Crabtree said. “These guys played tough, and they’ve carried us all year. We struggled a little bit here and there, but in the end, they did enough to win the game and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. I couldn’t be happier about how they performed and we’re ready to get back into conference action.”
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