North Cobb built a 14-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game on long touchdown passes but needed a 40-yard scoring run from C.J. Cole with nine minutes remaining to escape with a 24-20 victory over Etowah in a battle of two of the better unranked Class AAAAAAA teams Friday at North Cobb.
Cole finished with 114 yards on 23 carries, but none was bigger than his touchdown on a 3-and-1 play that ended Etowah’s 20-3 scoring run. He then iced the game in the closing minutes with carries on the final seven plays, picking up 22 yards and two first downs as the Warriors ran out the clock.
“Our kids just fight,” North Cobb coach Shane Queen said. “Last year we lost five games by four points or less, and I’ve been preaching to them all season to just finish the drill, finish the drill, and we saw that tonight.”
Etowah (1-1) stayed in the game largely behind the efforts of Tyray Devezin, who rushed for 203 yards on 20 carries. He did most of his damage in the third quarter, when he ran 76 yards for a touchdown to tie the game 17-17 and had a 64-yarder that set up Cameron Allen’s 32-yard field goal with 11:19 left in the fourth quarter that gave Etowah its only lead.
North Cobb (2-0) found a productive pattern on its first two possessions of the game – start the drive with a procedure penalty, run a play or two and then throw a long touchdown pass. That formula produced two scoring passes from Will Lovett, an 81-yarder to Drew Tejchman and a 54-yarder to Quannie Green that made it 14-0 with 9:34 to play in the first quarter.
North Cobb’s offense slowed, if only a bit, from there, and Etowah worked its way back into the game. Two long drives led to a 34-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Ferris to Stuart Head and a 34-yard field goal by Allen, cutting the lead to 14-10 about a minute into the second quarter.
North Cobb’s Will Horton added a 39-yard field goal with 48 seconds to play in the second quarter.
North Cobb finished with 468 yards in total offense. Lovett was 13-for-26 passing for 306 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and ran four times for 29 yards. Tejchman had six catches for 186 yards. Etowah had 262 yards in total offense.
“Our offensive line, I can’t say enough about them,” Queen said. “We were outmanned. You’ve got a 350-pound defensive lineman that you’re going against, plus that’s a physical football team. [Center] Nick Price is the quarterback of the offensive line. He gets us lined up and gets our checks and does an outstanding job for a junior lineman.”
Etowah – 7-3-7-3 – 20
North Cobb – 14-3-0-7 – 24
N – Drew Tejchman 81 pass from Will Lovett (Will Horton kick)
N – Quannie Green 54 pass from Lovett (Horton kick)
E – Stuart Head 34 pass from Patrick Ferris (Cameron Allen kick)
E – Allen 34 field goal
N – Horton 39 field goal
E – Tyray Devezin 76 run (Allen kick)
E – Allen 32 field goal
N – C.J. Cole 40 run (Horton kick)
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