The Mount Gilead football team earned its first win since Oct. 14, 2016 on Friday when they traveled to Elgin and won a wild game by a 41-40 margin.
In breaking a 24-game losing streak, the Indians had to battle back against the Comets multiple times — including from a 20-0 deficit in the second quarter.
A quick slant pass for a 70-yard score got the team on the board before halftime and they were able to return the opening kickoff of the second half for an 80-yard touchdown to trip their deficit to a 20-14 margin. Another touchdown made it 21-20 in favor of MG at the 8:13 mark of the third period.
Elgin would score to regain the lead at 26-21 midway through the period, but the Indians would score on the opening play of the fourth period on an eight-yard reverse. They added another touchdown to lead 34-26.
The game would end with a scoring flurry. An Elgin touchdown and two-point conversion tied the score with 2:20 remaining, but MG quickly scored to take a seven-point lead with 1:44 left. The Comets responded with another touchdown, but MG was able to stuff their two-point attempt to preserve the win and improve to 1-2 on the season.
Northmor Golden Knights
Northmor got through the non-conference portion of their schedule unscathed after edging host Lucas by a 14-13 margin on Friday.
All the scoring occurred during the first half, with Northmor striking first. Hunter Mariotti found Blake Miller for an eight-yard touchdown to stake the team to a 6-0 lead after the opening period.
Mariotti hit Miller again, this time for a 34-yard score and Max Lower added a conversion run to make it 14-0 six seconds into the second quarter. However, Lucas would battle back, getting two touchdowns before the half was over. However, they missed the extra point kick on the second score, which proved to be Northmor’s margin of victory.
Mariotti completed nine passes for 175 yards, including three to Gavin Ramos for 54 yards, two to Wyatt Reeder for 64 and two to Miller for 42 and both of the team’s scores. Reeder added 95 rushing yards.
