The No. 5 Norcross Blue Devils waltzed to a 38-15 road win over the No. 8 Parkview Panthers on Friday in a Region 7-AAAAAAA contest that could have been even more lopsided.
The Blue Devils (6-0, 2-0 Region 7) had a big game from senior quarterback Baron Radcliff, who set the tone by completing two of his first three passes for touchdowns of 55 and 74 yards to give Norcross a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter. He finished the game 11 of 21 passing for 178 yards and three touchdowns to one interceptions.
“He’s got an arm and the thing he’s doing well is playing quarterback and finding the receivers,” Blue Devils coach Keith Maloof said. “He’s putting the ball where it needs to be.”
Had it not been for a turnover, a few drops, a blocked field goal and a lot of penalties, the Blue Devils would have put a lot more points on the board against the Panthers (3-2, 0-1), who opened region play on a sour note.
“We got behind the chains again tonight with penalties but again we found a way to overcome it” Maloof said. “We did some great things tonight.”
Norcross and Parkview combined for 294 yards in penalties - the Blue Devils racked up 136 of those yards.
After Radcliff’s second touchdown pass, Blue Devils linebacker Terrion Dangerfield intercepted a Panthers pass on Parkview’s ensuing possession and returned it 20 yards to the Panthers 8, setting the Blue Devils up for another score. But Radcliff would make throw an interception of his own on the next play, which gave Parkview enough momentum to go on a 15-0 run to briefly take the lead.
A 3-yard run from Deion Slade plus a successful two-point conversion, then a 77-yard Christian Malloy run put Parkview up 15-14 with 11:25 remaining in the half. But the Panthers wouldn’t score again.
The Blue Devils reclaimed the lead on their next possession with an 11-play, 55-yard drive capped by Clay Harris’ 2-yard run and a Norcross 2-point conversion of its own. With 33 seconds remaining in the half, Robert Sims caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Radcliff on third-and-5 to give Norcross a 28-15 halftime lead.
That score would hold until the fourth quarter, when with 6:57 remaining, a Panthers high snap on a punt attempt from their own 11 sailed out of the end zone for a safety.
The Panthers then attempted an onside kick from their own 20 and recovered, but game officials determined the ball didn’t reach the required 10 yards and threw the flag. An irate Panthers coach Eric Godfree was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his actions while arguing the officials’ decision.
As a result, Norcross took over on the Parkview 15 and six plays later, Omar Sinclair scored on a 5-yard run to bring the score to its final margin with 4:28 remaining.
Jacobe Burrell led the Blue Devils in receiving by catching Radcliff’s 74-yard touchdown pass, his only reception of the game. Sinclair caught the 55-yard touchdown pass and added another reception to finish with 64 yards. He also had 53 yards on 11 carries. Clay Harris was their leading rusher with 77 yards on 12 carries and Radcliff had 52 yards on seven carries.
Parkview was led by Malloy’s 99 yards on eight carries, followed by Slade’s 78 yards on 15 carries. Panthers quarterback Caleb Mitchell was 9 of 22 passing for 53 yards and two interceptions.
Norcross takes a bye before hosting Lakeside in a region matchup on Oct. 14. Parkview travels to play Lakeside next week.
Norcross 14 15 0 9 - 38
Parkview 8 7 0 0 - 15
N - Omar Sinclair 55 pass from Baron Radcliff (Cole Hanna kick)
N - Jacobe Burrell 74 pass from Radcliff (Hanna kick)
P - Deion Slade 3 run (Jonathan French pass from Malik Washington)
P - Christian Malloy 77 run (JT Amaya kick)
N - Clay Harris 2 run (Robert Sims pass from Radcliff)
N - Sims 20 pass from Radcliff (Hanna kick)
N - Safety
N - Omar Sinclair 5 run (Hanna kick)
About the Author
