In last season’s opener for Northside, the Grizzlies scored two defensive touchdowns before their offense took the field.

Friday, in the dawn of a brand-new season, the Grizzlies’ offense had a quick start of their own.

On the first three plays the Grizzlies ran, they converted those into touchdowns as they built a 22-0 first-quarter lead. Northside went on to a 36-7 win on the road at Rogers Heritage.

The Grizzlies’ first TD was set up by the defense. Heritage took the opening kickoff, and on its third offensive play, Grizzly defensive back Skyler Mingboupha intercepted a pass at the Heritage 47 and returned it 19 yards to the 28.

Dreyden Norwood, the starting quarterback, took a keeper on the next play and found space, taking it in for a 28-yard TD. Northside then went for two and got it, as J.T. Thorne rolled to his right and found a wide-open Khaden Washington in the end zone for an 8-0 lead.

Northside (1-0) forced a three-and-out on the next series, and a punt from Heritage went 23 yards to the Heritage 38.

One play later, Norwood launched a deep pass to Jackson King running in stride, and King went in for the touchdown. Dagon Moore tacked on the PAT for a 15-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

The Grizzlies forced another turnover on the ensuing possession, as cornerback William Releford picked off a pass near midfield. He went in for an apparent touchdown, but it was called back due to a penalty.

No matter.

On the Grizzlies’ next play, their third on the night, Norwood broke loose and sprinted 61 yards for the team’s third TD. Moore’s PAT made it 22-0 with more than five minutes left in the opening quarter.

The Grizzlies added to their lead in the second quarter.

Facing a fourth-and-1 at the Northside 49, King took a pitch around the right side and found paydirt, going in for his second TD on the night. Moore’s PAT extended the lead to 29-0.

?(King and Norwood) are two dynamic players that make big plays happen,” Northside coach Mike Falleur said. “We saw some things the way they were lining up, and we got the right plays called and we executed them and scored. There’s still a lot of things we’ve got to improve on.

“We’ve got to look at the film and make corrections, and we’ve got to tackle better but you do that from week one to week two. We’ve got to make a huge jump from this week to next week (when the Grizzlies go to defending 6A state champion Greenwood).”

Heritage drove into Grizzly territory with time running out in the first half, but Releford picked off a pass in the end zone to end the half, his second interception on the night.


The Grizzlies scored again after taking the second-half kickoff, going 58 yards in nine plays. Sophomore running back Ty Massey finished things off with a 3-yard TD run, and Slate Stanton came on to kick the PAT to make it 36-0.

Heritage reached the Northside 10 late in the third, but on a fourth-down, Grizzly linebacker J.J. Mills made a stop, which preserved the shutout for the time being, though Heritage finally got on the board with 3:35 left in the game.

Norwood finished with 91 yards rushing on three carries, and Massey added 74 yards on five rushes.

The Grizzlies’ defense held Heritage to 56 yards of total offense in the first half.
