Northside imposes their will on Bruce with 56-0 victory to advance to Round 2
After suffering back-to-back losses, the Northside High School Gators made sure a third straight defeat would not gone down on Friday (Nov. 8).
The Gators had an easy time in the first round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association 2A State Football Playoffs as they crushed the Bruce High School Trojans 56-0 at George Sissan Field. Northside (8-3) will advance to the second round of the playoffs as they will travel to Philadelphia to play the Philadelphia High School Tornadoes (5-6) on Friday (Nov. 15).Bruce ended its year at 3-7.
The win not only keeps the Gators’ season alive, but it proved the team didn’t have any lingering affects from their setbacks to Charleston (40-34, OT) and Yazoo County (41-30). The Gators’ defense turned in a standout performance with its fourth shutout of the year.
“It’s been a long two weeks after losing to Charleston and coming back the next week to lose to Yazoo County,” said Northside Head Football Coach Montrelli Finley. “We had a good practice this week, and we really wanted to get back to playing Northside football and that’s being physical on the offensive and defensive lines. I think we did a pretty good job of doing that and getting to the ball. That’s where the zero comes from. We still have a lot of improving we’ve got to do, and we still have to make sure we do the things that we need to do. If we do that, I think we can control our own destiny.”
The Gators had 245 yards of offense with 128 return yards. The Gators’ lead got big enough in the first half were officials started running the clock toward the end of the second quarter.
Senior Jermarj Bell was absolutely electric as he returned two punts for touchdowns. One return was for 42 yards and the other return was for 22 yards. Bell also returned a kickoff back 64 yards which gave him 128 return yards on the evening. He also rushed for 18 yards on two carries and scored a 2-point conversion.
“You talk about a special athlete,” said Finley. “God blessed that young man, and he still works at it also. He’s got it, and we have to make sure we continue to get the ball in his hands. We’ve got some other players that can do some things also, but that’s a special young man. As long as he stays humble and believing in God, I think the sky’s the limit.”
Along with the yards, the Gators’ offense didn’t have any turnovers.
“We stressed holding on to the ball this week,” said Finley. “We saw a lot of them trying to hold people up and strip the ball from them when we were watching film. It was key for us to make sure we had no turnovers, no fumbles or interceptions. We just wanted to go out there and make sure we controlled the ball and controlled the clock.”
On offense for Northside, Jaylin Hickman completed 3-of-6 passes for 65 yards with a 2-point conversion and no interceptions and rushed for 29 yards with a touchdown on four carries to lead the Gators. Broderick McGee rushed for 67 yards with a touchdown and a 2-point conversion on 11 carries; Jaylin Hickman caught two passes for 49 yards with a two-point conversion; Dwayne Robinson and Jakarrius Fields each had a 28-yard touchdown run apiece, James Hogan had a reception for 16 yards, Javarrius Hickman rushed for 10 yards with a touchdown on two carries and Edward Robinson had a two-point conversion to contribute to the Gators’ offensive attack.
On defense for Northside, Xavier Thomas had nine tackles with (four solos, five assists) with a pass deflection, Rodrick Thomas had six tackles (four solos, two assists) with an interception; Quintavius Taylor had six tackles (two solos, four assists) with a forced fumble, Fields had two tackles (one solo, one assist) with an interception he returned 40 yards for a touchdown, William Lewis, Jr. had six tackles (four solos, two assists); Artavius Robinson (three solos, two assists) and Bell (five solos) had five tackles each, and Hogan had three solo tackles with a pass deflection and a fumble recovery to spearhead the Gators.
The Gators’ opponent this week, Philadelphia, has won the right games at the right time. After starting the year off 0-5, Philadelphia has won five of its last six games. The Tornadoes defeated Hatley 44-3 in the first round to advance to round two. The Tornadoes won the Region 4-2A Championship during the year.
Finley said he expects the Tornadoes will be ready to defend their turf.
“When you’re playing on the road, it’s always a tough place to play,” said Finley. “If you have any dog in you, you’re going to bite at home anyway. We just have to make sure we do everything that we’re supposed to do. We don’t need to have any turnovers, and we have to make sure we get to the ball on defense.”
The winner of the Northside-Philadelphia game will play the winner of the Leflore County-Union game in the third round of the playoffs on Nov. 22.