In a game filled with big plays, Northside came up huge when it counted the most on both sides of the football.
Trailing 19-18 in the closing minutes, the Grizzlies took the lead on a 63-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Max Frazier to receiver Tre Norwood. Northside's defense then held inside its own 10-yard line as the Grizzlies survived Little Rock Catholic, winning 26-19 Friday in 7A-Central action at Mayo-Thompson Stadium.
"I've been here four years and we've played Little Rock Catholic three times and they're good," Northside coach Mike Falleur said. "I mean they play hard, they're physical, and I'm not taking anything away from them. ... We had to make a big play to win it.
"But I knew our guys, the way we practiced all week, weren't ready to play and it showed. Again, my hat's off to (Catholic), they got after it."
The Grizzlies, who were up 18-13 at halftime and still had that same score entering the fourth, gave up the lead on a touchdown with 5:50 left, as Catholic took a 19-18 advantage.
Northside took over at its own 20. Five plays later, the Grizzlies got the lead back.
Facing a third-and-9 at the Northside 37, Frazier launched a throw near the left sideline. Norwood made the catch over a defender inside the Catholic 30 and took off down the left sideline for the touchdown. Northside added a two-point conversion, a pass from Frazier to Kedrick Thomas.
Northside (4-1, 3-0) then had to rely on its defense to save the game. The Rockets (1-5, 0-3) reached the Grizzly 9-yard line on a first-and-goal, but three running plays resulted in just 1 yard, setting up a fourth-and-goal from the 8.
On a throwing situation, Northside linebacker Robert Wilkerson applied pressure to Catholic quarterback Taylor Price, forcing an off-balance throw which still went toward the end zone, where defensive back Matthew Jackson was there to swat it away with 31 seconds left. The Grizzlies took over and were able to run out the clock.
"(I took a chance) and was going for (Price) because no one was out there and I didn't want him running it," Wilkerson, who also returned an interception for a second-quarter TD, said. "It was a big play entirely by our defense and all because we had great coverage as well, so it's not just me, I did a small part. We're all part of the puzzle to make that happen."
The Grizzlies, who were riding a two-game shutout streak entering Friday's game, saw that snapped on the opening drive, as the Rockets got a long field goal. Catholic added another field goal which was set up by an interception to extend its lead to 6-0 early in the second quarter.
But Northside finally broke through on the very next play from scrimmage. After a touchback on the kickoff put the ball at the Grizzlies' 20, tailback Hunter Pendleton went right up the middle untouched and raced for an 80-yard touchdown to tie the score.
Northside then went for two, and got it, as Frazier pitched out to Derrick Wise. Wise was able to extend his arm just beyond the goal line for the additional points, giving the Grizzlies an 8-6 lead two minutes into the second quarter.
Three plays later, Northside built its lead. Wilkerson intercepted a pass at the Catholic 45 and found running room down the left sideline, going in for the TD. Chuy Parga tacked on the extra point for a 15-6 Grizzly advantage.
However, Catholic answered on the very next play as tailback Samy Johnson went 75 yards for a TD, and the PAT kick cut Northside's lead to 15-13 with under eight minutes left until intermission. That capped three big-play touchdowns in a span of exactly two minutes.
Late in the first half, after forcing Catholic to punt, Northside took over at its own 28. The Grizzlies then put together a solid drive, featuring a 22-yard run by Jamarlan Jones down to the Rockets' 8. But the drive stalled, and Parga came on to kick a 33-yard field goal with 8.6 seconds remaining in the half, giving Northside an 18-13 lead at the break.
