By ROB HAMILTON
For four quarters, Mount Gilead and Northridge played evenly on Friday night.
However, the Vikings were the only team to score in overtime, giving them a 26-20 win over the Indians and dropping the Morrow County team to 1-2 on the season.
The Indians took a 14-6 lead after the opening quarter. After falling in an early 6-0 hole, the Indians tied the score on a 31-yard run by Deondre Cook. They would then get a 25-yard interception return by Kayleb Hall, followed by a two-point conversion run by Alex Ferguson to lead by eight.
The Vikings closed within two points, but MG responded with a 50-yard scoring run by Jonah Barnett to take a 20-12 lead. Northridge picked up a touchdown and two-point conversion before the half, though, to knot the score at 20.
After neither team scored in the second half, the game went to overtime, where the Vikings picked up the win.
Most of Mount Gilead’s work came on the ground, as Cook ran for 173 yards and Barnett added 105. Tyler Bland caught three balls for 14 yards.
Highland Scots
A fourth-quarter surge pushed host River Valley past Highland last night by a 27-7 margin.
The Vikings took a 7-0 lead over Highland (0-3) in the first quarter, but the Scots responded in the second period, getting a one-yard run by Jared Limings and point-after kick from Satchel Denton to tie the game entering the half.
Neither team could score in the third period, but River Valley picked up three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth period to finish on top by a 20-point margin.
The Scots were held to 76 yards in the loss, with Limings running for 54 of that total. He also caught three balls for 26 yards.
Northmor Knights
Northmor’s offense could not get untracked Friday in a 36-6 loss at Lucas that dropped them to 1-2 on the season.
The Cubs took a 14-0 lead on two first quarter touchdowns, but the Knights picked up a score to close within eight points early in the second period on a fumble return by Conan Becker.
That would be the only points Northmor got, though. Lucas scored twice more in the second to take a 29-6 lead into the intermission and added a touchdown in the third quarter to provide their final margin of victory.
Northmor finished with 103 yards of total offense. Gunnar Lilly finished with 39 rushing yards, while Jake Farley threw for 30, with Demetrius Johnson snaring a 21-yard reception.
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS
