Rally Comes Up Short: Northview Academy’s Season Ends in 35-28 Loss to Cherokee
On an evening when it seemed the world was stacked against the visiting Northview Academy Cougars (5-5, 3-4), their comeback effort fell just short against the home-standing Cherokee Chiefs (6-4, 4-3), 35-28, ending the Cougars' season just one game shy of making the TSSAA State Playoffs.
From their opening possession, Northview faced an uphill battle after the initial kickoff was mishandled, giving the Cougars the ball on their own 8-yard line. With them unable to get anything going, NVA punted the ball away to the Chiefs after a 3-and-out.
Cherokee took over on the NVA 37-yard line. The Chiefs drove down the field, and their drive seemed to stall before quarterback Cade Putnal found Branson Mowell on 4th & 3 for 14 yards to keep their opening drive alive, moving the ball down to the 6-yard line.
The Chiefs would use the momentum as just one play later, Jayden Weston punched it in from 6 yards out for his first of two touchdowns on the evening. The PAT was true, and the Chiefs led 7-0 with 6:35 remaining in the opening quarter.
Northview seemed to have regained momentum on their second drive when quarterback Hayden Mitchell connected with Keeyon Woodson for a 29-yard pass. However, two penalties for personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct pushed the Cougars back, forcing them to punt the ball to the Chiefs once more.
On the punt, Northview junior Isaac Haney was flagged for a flagrant unsportsmanlike penalty after a hard hit on the punt returner, where he did not see the Cherokee return man signal for a fair catch. Due to the nature of the penalty, Haney was ejected from the contest, and the Cougars were down another contributor early in the game.
Cherokee took over on the NVA 29-yard line and once again found paydirt; this time it was Eli Boyd with the touchdown honors on another 6-yard rushing TD. Once again, the PAT was good, and the Chiefs led 14-0 nearing the end of the first quarter.
The Cougars, however, did not back down from the challenge. Taking over possession on their own 5-yard line, NVA went to the air where Mitchell connected with Ke. Woodson yet again, this time for 73 yards, putting the Cougars in the red zone for the first time in the game.
NVA advanced the ball deeper into Chiefs territory thanks to a 14-yard run by Kaysaun Woodson, eventually finishing the drive with a 4-yard touchdown. NVA added a 2-point conversion when Dillon Martin powered through the Chiefs' defensive line for a successful 2-point rush. With 10:26 left in the half, Cherokee was ahead 14-8.
"We had a lot of adversity this week, a lot of things didn't go Northview's way. We're down 14-0 and I'm just trying to keep our kids up, I felt like our kids responded and were able to go down and make it 14-8." Anderson said of his teams efforts.
On the subsequent kickoff, Cherokee executed a reverse kickoff return where Ezra Garrett handed the ball to Tye Roberts, who ran the remaining distance unchallenged for a 78-yard touchdown. With a successful 2-point conversion, the Chiefs took a 22-8 lead.
Northview would once again move the ball down the field before Ka. Woodson lost the ball for the first time all year. The Chiefs recovered the fumble on the 50-yard line.
The Chiefs capitalized on their field position, allowing them to extend their drive after a 4th down pass interference penalty against NVA, which kept the Cherokee offense on the field.
Cherokee found the end zone for a touchdown on the very next play as Putnal found Mowell for the 19-yard passing touchdown, but Damien Reveles broke through the Chiefs' line and blocked the PAT, leaving the Chiefs with a 20-point lead with 3:51 remaining in the half.
NVA's next drive would start on their own 35-yard line, and on 2nd down, Mitchell would hit Dominick Welch for the 65-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline, untouched for the Cougars' score. The 2-point conversion failed, and with 2:59 remaining in the opening half, NVA trailed Cherokee 28-14.
Following the kickoff, Northview recovered the fumbled return at the Chiefs' 42-yard line, shifting the momentum decisively in favor of the Cougars.
The Cougars went to work early in the drive, and Mitchell once again found Ke. Woodson down the right side for the 42-yard touchdown completion and run. The 2-point conversion failed once again, and the lead had been cut to 8, with the Chiefs leading 28-20 with 2:43 remaining in the opening half of play.
"We've got a lot of young kids playing, I figured it up and we've got 16 or 17 freshman and sophomores playing on both sides of the ball and that's kind of unheard of in high school ball." Anderson said of the youth of his football team and their contributions.
The NVA defense held strong during the next Cherokee offensive drive, forcing another 4th down where the Chiefs' pass fell harmlessly to the ground, turning the ball over to the Cougars at their own 28-yard line.
Northview looked to capitalize on the turnover on downs before the half came to an end, with Mitchell & Ka Woodson ripping off runs to move the Cougars down to the Chiefs' 45-yard line. Mitchell once again got free just before the half for 21 yards, but a hit from the Cherokee defense knocked the ball loose for the fumble and recovery as the half expired, with the Chiefs leading 28-20 heading into the halftime break.
Cherokee would receive the 2nd half kickoff, and on the 3rd play of the drive, Julian Batson would get free for the Cougars' sack, forcing a fumble that was recovered by senior Dylan Collier for NVA, setting the Cougars up on the Chiefs' 33-yard line.
NVA moved down the field and into the red zone before Mitchell found room around the right side of the Cherokee defense for the touchdown rush from 18 yards out. The 2-point conversion from Martin was successful, and suddenly the Cougars and Chiefs were knotted at 28.
Once more, the Cougars' defense held strong, causing another turnover on downs after the Cherokee offense's incomplete pass with 2:42 left in the 3rd quarter. NVA took possession on the 15-yard line, aiming to orchestrate a game-winning drive.
The Cougars converted a 4th and 1 deep in their own territory before moving the ball closer to the midfield stripe, where Elijah Cates gained 7 yards and another Cougars first down on the 37-yard line.
Martin rushed for 12 on the next play, and Cates gained 9 on the following 3rd down play, setting NVA up for another pivotal 4th down play as time was running down in the game. Martin would gain 4 yards and set NVA up yet again with a fresh set of downs.
With the Cougars looking at 8 yards needed for a first down to continue the drive, a series of back-to-back penalties, including a false start and a hold, ended the drive and forced a punt. The snap went through the hands of the punter for the Cougars before he gained control of the ball and got the ball away. The Chiefs hit the punter after the ball was away, and with the penalty flag flying, the drive appeared as if it would continue.
The call was made by the referees that it was an incidental running into the punter, rather than roughing, with the yardage tacked on to the end of the punt, giving Cherokee possession of the football.
The Cougars' defense once again was up to the challenge, and on 3rd down, the pass fell to the turf, but the referee's flag was thrown, and the NVA defense was called for roughing the passer, giving the Chiefs new life and a fresh set of downs.
Two plays later Weston would break free and score the game clinching score from 49 yards out, through the heart of the Cougars defense.
The PAT was good and with 4:09 remaining in the game, Cherokee led the NVA Cougars 35-28.
The Cougars made progress on 1st down when Ka. Woodson broke through for a 12-yard run, bringing them near midfield. However, consecutive false start penalties doomed their efforts, leading to 2nd and 3rd and long situations. On what could be their final play of the season, Mitchell was forced out of the pocket on 4th and 12, managing only 7 yards before being pushed out of bounds. This turnover gave the ball and the game to Cherokee, who maintained possession until the clock ran out, securing a 35-28 victory over the visiting NVA Cougars.
"I asked you to play for 48 minutes, and you played for 48 minutes. We had a lot of adversity to get over today, we didn't get a couple of breaks when we needed to get the breaks but that's football. Be proud of how you finished." Coach Justin Anderson told his team following the game.
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