If Northgate was a rock group it would be called “Ton and the Bullies.”
Junior scat back Ton Evans dipped, squirted and sprinted his way to more than 200 yards rushing and three touchdowns, while the “bullies – the Viking offensive line and defense – wore down a feisty Starr’s Mill squad en route to a 21-7 win Friday night in Newnan.
The win keeps Northgate (9-0, 6-0 in Region 4AAAAA-Division A), ranked No. 10 in Class AAAAA, unbeaten and earned the Vikings a sub region title and a chance at the region crown next week against No. 3 Stockbridge (9-0, 6-0 in Division B).
Starr’s Mill (8-1, 5-1), now a two-seed in the sub region playoff, falls into the precarious position of facing the prospects of not advancing to the state playoffs if the Panthers lose to the three seed from the other side next week.
Along with putting itself in position for a region title and undefeated regular season, Northgate was motivated by two other factors: re-establishing its defensive dominance and beating its backyard rival. Going into last week’s game against Drew, Northgate’s defense had yielded a total of just 20 points and tossed four shutouts. But the Titans put up 25 in the 35-25 Viking win.
“We thought we played a pretty good defensive football game against Drew,” said Northgate head coach Tommy Walburn. “The thing is, Drew is one of the most explosive teams in the state.”
As for the rivalry, after defeating Starr’s Mill for three consecutive seasons, the Panthers knocked off Northgate last season, 24-14.
“They just outplayed us last year,” Walburn said. “This game is so important because we all know each other. The kids played with and against each other in youth football. The families know each other and Starr’s Mill always has a good football team.”
Northgate held a 14-0 lead at the half on two touchdown runs by Evans. The first came on the second play of the game. After Evans raced 62 yards on the first play from scrimmage down to the Panther 16 yard line, he still had enough juice to sprint into the end zone on the next play.
In the second quarter, a blocked punt by senior linebacker James Skalski set the Vikings up at the Starr’s Mill 30 yard line, and Evans would eventually score on a 10-yard run.
But the Panthers answered just three plays into their second possession of the third quarter. Sophomore quarterback Joey Deluca took advantage of Northgate’s aggressiveness in shutting down the Panther run game – which came in averaging more than 300 yards per contest – when he caught a Viking defensive back peeking in the backfield and lofted a pass to senior Dion Munerluyn who raced 62 yards for a touchdown to narrow the gap to 14-7 going into the fourth quarter.
Starr’s Mill attempted a fake punt on its own 47-yard line early in the period, but punter Ryan Cockes’ pass fell incomplete. On the fourth play of Northgate’s ensuing drive, Evans took a jet sweep to the left, patiently waited for his blockers to give him a crease, and dashed 33 yards down the near sideline for his third touchdown of the game and a 21-7 lead for the Vikings.
But Evans wasn’t finished. After Northgate’s defense held Starr’s Mill to negative yardage on the Panther’s next possession, Evans took another jet sweep 70-yards for a touchdown on third down. But the run was called back for holding. Undaunted, and not winded, Evans darted, juked and weaved his way for a 37-yard gain on third-and-25 to seal the victory.
“Our offensive line, tight end to tight end, is all seniors,” Walburn said of the group that includes Zach Lyle, Austin Smith, Sean McCool, Jaylen Buckhanna and Caleb Blankenship. “Our offensive line coach, Chris Rippy, does a great job with that group. They’re the hardest working group on the team and everybody knows it.”
Starr’s Mill 0 0 7 0 7
Northgate 7 7 0 7 21
N – Ton Evans 16 run (James Skalski kick)
N – Evans 10 run (Skalski kick)
S – Dion Munerlyn 62 pass from Joey Deluca (Whitaker Chu kick)
N – Evans 33 run (Skalski kick)
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