Northrop fails to hold lead on North Side again

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Oct. 12, Northrop led North Side 14-13 in the first quarter and had to wait until the fourth quarter before scoring again in a 48-26 drubbing. Thursday night, the Bruins jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the opening quarter. Once again, Northrop waited a long time to see its points increase on the scoreboard.

The Redskins scored over 40 points for the third straight week in a 42-21 win in the Class 5A Sectional 3 opener.

Right before the half, North Side's Anthony Linnear sped past the Bruins coverage for a 43-yard pass from quarterback C.J. Jackson. The drive began inside the Redskins 5-yard line with less than two minutes remaining.

“That drive shifted the momentum of the game,” said Northrop coach Tim Martone.

The score gave North Side a 21-14 lead going into the break.

“I stayed silent after one quarter despite being behind,” said Redskins coach Ryan Hall. “The defense kept working hard so our offense would get more chances to get going.”

North Side's offense did not seem to be on the same page for the first quarter with bad snaps leading to fumbles and lost plays.

The Redskins offense knotted up the game with rushing touchdowns in the second quarter, one each from Jackson and Linnear.

“Our defense controlled the game in order to give C.J. and Anthony a chance to settle in and run the offense,” Hall said.

Jackson added another rushing touchdown on the first possession of the second half.

While the weather was cold, the game was not played on a wet field like many games in past weeks.

One may think the ball was slick with North Side fumbling the ball five times and the Bruins losing control six times.

"It's tough to play the same opponent back-to-back, even if one of them seems to be a one-sided matchup,” Hall said.

Linnear proved pivotal on both sides of the ball totaling four scores. He dominated the ground game with 25 rushes for 217 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns. Along with the go-ahead score on a reception, he put the game away with an interception return.

Jackson finished with 14 of 25 passing with 207 yards.

Northrop got on the board first with a 13-yard keeper by quarterback Colin Brockhouse.

The Bruins forced the Redskins to punt on their next possession. Northrop blocked the punt and scored on the next play on a strike to Spencer Cowherd from Brockhouse.

Brockhouse finished with 154 yards on 10-of-25 passing.

North Side (8-2) will face either Huntington North or South Side next week. Both are teams the Redskins beat fairly easily this season.

nssports@news-sentinel.com