BEVERLY — An epic defensive struggle took place here Friday night between Northmor and Fort Frye in a Division VI Region 23 playoff game.
And it ended in a heartbreaking 6-0 loss for the Golden Knights.
Fort Frye prevailed, scoring with just seven seconds to play in the contest on a 26-yard pass from quarterback Tate Engle to Brady Schilling.
The two-point conversion failed. But the win sends the Flyers (10-1) into the second round where they will face Nelsonville-York, who blanked Shadyside, 34-0.
Northmor finished a stellar season under first-year coach Scott Armrose at 8-3.
After holding the host Flyers scoreless, quarterback Demetrius “Meechie” Johnson connected on a long pass to Conan Becker to put the ball on the Fort Frye 37-yard line.
But Fort Frye intercepted a Northmor pass at its own 43-yard line with less than a minute to play and drove in for the only score of the night.
The Golden Knights, in their first playoff appearance, intercepted Fort Frye twice in the fourth quarter, but failed to reach the end zone.
The Northmor defense forced five interceptions from Engle. Johnson had two, while Conor Becker, Gavin Ramos and Austin Wheeler each had one.
Northmor had 224 total yards to the Flyers’ 269, of which 173 came via the air. Fort Frye turned the ball over five times and the Knights twice.
Fort Frye had eight first downs to five for Northmor. Both teams were flagged for 35 yards in penalties.
Johnson rushed for 106 yards on 26 carries. Conor Becker had three receptions for 49 yards and Conan Becker ran nine times for 50 yards.
Engle completed 10-of-21 pass attempts for 173 yards. Evan Schob was the Cadets leading rusher with 46 yards on 14 carries as Fort Frye couldn’t get going on the ground. Tyler Bradford ran 13 times for 35 yards.
