IBERIA — It wasn't just a rivalry game. It was an epic.
There were six lead changes, and the outcome wasn't decided until the final second. And when it was over, not only did Northmor upset Mount Gilead 31-23 in a home Knox Morrow Athletic Conference football game Oct. 16, the Golden Knights snapped a four-game losing streak and likely denied MG a playoff berth.
"It says a lot about this group to go through what we’ve gone though this season," Northmor coach Scott Armrose said. "Obviously it’s not what we wanted, but to continue to work and get better and play our best football game of the year for our second win in Week 9 says a lot about these guys and these coaches."
Northmor, MG on the scoreboard see-saw
Brad Bowlin hauled in a 35-yard touchdown from Tanner Miley on the opening drive of the game to put the Knights up 7-0, but MG came back with a scoring drive of its own on its first possession, capped by a 23-yard run by Boe Sayers and a 2-point conversion run from Kaden St. Clair. With 3:52 left in the half, Northmor unleashed a 14-play series that went 97 yards and ended on an 8-yard TD catch by Jackson Welch to go into halftime leading 14-8.
Mount Gilead started the second half with a nearly 6-minute drive finished by Tyler Harr on a 9-yard run to go up 15-14, but Bowlin struck for a 79-yard kickoff return for a TD and immediately retake it at 22-15. On its next series, MG went up 23-22 after a Sayers 24-yard scoring run and a Harr 2-point run.
On its first series of the second half, Northmor got a 40-yard field goal from Andreh Abdelmassih for a 25-23 edge with 10:18 to go.
Bowlin again keyed a Northmor scoring drive by catching a 27-yard jump ball down the sideline on fourth-and-10 from the 31 to set his team up at the 4. Three plays later, he scored out of the wildcat for the 31-23 lead.
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Mount Gilead then hit Harr for a 73-yard TD catch, but it was called back for an illegal blindside block. Still, MG got the ball inside the red zone with less than a minute to go, but a sack on third down forced a hurried fourth-down play as time ran out.
"We didn’t really win any phase of the game tonight," MG coach Mike Reid said. "We lost special teams and couldn’t get a stop defensively. Offensively we moved the ball extremely well and just didn’t finish. I’m proud of the guys still. They’re always fighting and always playing hard. Northmor played their hearts out. I’ve got to give Coach Armrose and his boys a little credit, too."
Mount Gilead wasn't as sharp as it needed to be. In the first half, they lost a fumble when they had the ball at the Northmor 9 for first-and-goal. In Northmor's scoring drive before halftime, there was a pass interference and defensive holding penalties that kept the series alive. MG was flagged seven times for 90 yards, while Northmor was penalized nine times for 70 yards.
"It stings a lot," Reid said as his team falls to 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the KMAC. "That last touchdown coming back, that’s rough. What I told them is that we have to come back in the morning like men and regroup and learns from life lessons about that and come back ready to beat Cardington the Battle of 42. We can’t look back. We can only look forward right now."
The game by the numbers
Bowlin did it all for the Golden Knights who are now 2-7, 2-4. He caught seven passes for 127 yards and a TD, ran four times for 11 yards and a score, returned a kickoff for a touchdown and was a fixture on defense.
"The kid is a football player, and he’s one of the key parts of what we’re doing. He made some of those big plays when we needed somebody to make big plays," Armrose said.
Miley led the team in rushing with 41 yards on 12 carries, plus passed for 173 yards on 12-for-19 passing. Welch made four catches for 42 yards and a TD.
For MG, Harr ran for 151 yards and a TD on 26 carries, and Sayer added 145 yards and two TDs on 17 carries, while Grant LaRoche had 42 yards on seven carries. Wyatt Long was 5-for-8 passing for 59 yards as Harr made two catches for 46 yards.
Mount Gilead finished with 388 yards to 259 for the Knights and 20 first downs to 15. MG controlled the ball for nearly 30 minutes.
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Northmor, Mount Gilead football hook up for a back-and-forth struggle