Indeed, the third time was the charm for the Northside Grizzlies last week.

After having lost in the 7A quarterfinals each of the previous two seasons, the Grizzlies finally broke through last Friday. On the strength of a 27-point second quarter, Northside went on the road and bested Bentonville, 30-17, in the 7A quarters.

“It was the third time in the quarterfinals and it was time for us to take that next step and I felt like we did that,” Northside coach Mike Falleur said. “I thought our kids did a great job on both sides of the ball, no turnovers on offense. We did have a couple of holding penalties, but besides that, we played pretty clean.

“Then defensively, we really only gave up two plays with any distance and made them work for everything they got. We got three turnovers, and two of them on the kicking game. ... We just got after it, so it was a great win for us; I thought our kids played extremely hard and physical, and I thought our coaches did a great job last week in preparing them and getting them ready to go.”

Northside turned two of those turnovers into touchdowns as part of its big second-quarter barrage. The Grizzlies eventually built a 27-10 halftime advantage, with Bentonville’s lone TD coming on a kickoff return.

“Again, it was just playing really good defense and getting turnovers and the offense taking advantage of a short field,” Falleur said. “I think we had one drive that was 69 yards and all the rest were all short and one was 1 yard, so you can’t ask for a lot more than that, but just a great second quarter.”

The Grizzlies extended their lead to 20 points, 30-10, late in the third quarter when senior kicker Henry Hernandez connected on a season-long 47-yard field goal. Hernandez has made all eight of his field-goal attempts on the season.

“Henry has done a great job for us,” Falleur said. “I think that’s 8-for-8 on field goals and he’s only missed one or two extra points, so he’s had a great senior year and I hope he continues to do that the longer that we’re playing.”

Quarterback Derrick “Deuce” Wise completed 11-of-14 passes for 45 yards, including a 29-yard TD pass to Jackson King. Wise also rushed 24 times for 139 yards and a touchdown.


King caught seven passes for 48 yards and had 17 more yards rushing, including a 1-yard TD on a drive set up by linebacker Anthony Travis’ interception deep in Bentonville territory. Eli Bolton added 48 yards rushing, including a 12-yard TD early in the second quarter to put Northside in front to stay, 7-3.

Travis finished with 12 tackles, two sacks and caused a fumble to go with his interception. Linebacker Stetson Van Matre added 10 tackles, seven of those solo, along with a sack.

Also for the Grizzlies, senior lineman Raytel Rone recorded a sack, senior cornerback Elijah Tabut broke up five passes while Tyriq Adams and J.T. Thorne each recovered fumbles.

Northside (8-4) will now play in its first semifinal since 2005, as the Grizzlies travel to 7A-Central rival Bryant on Friday. When the two teams met in September, the Hornets were awarded a 16-7 win in a game that was called right before halftime due to storms.

It also means the Grizzlies will get the rare chance to practice on Thanksgiving Day, which they will at 9 a.m. at Mayo-Thompson Stadium. All former players, parents and fans are invited to attend.
