North Paulding, seeking first region title in 4 years, now the favorite in 5-7A
The North Paulding football team, seeking its first region championship since 2022, emerged as the favorite in a crowded field at the top of Region 5-7A by rallying from a 10-point second-half deficit and beating eighth-ranked North Cobb 22-19 in overtime Friday night in Dallas.
North Paulding took its first lead of the game on Easton Mowry’s 27-yard field goal in overtime, then sealed the victory when Paul Dabbelt intercepted a pass on the first play of North Cobb’s possession.
North Paulding, North Cobb and Etowah all began the night with no region losses, but only North Paulding survived. Etowah was beaten by Marietta 70-48 and joins North Cobb and Walton with one loss each.
North Paulding (5-2, 4-0) can all but wrap up the region championship with a victory at Etowah next week. The Wolfpack likely would also need to win one of its final two games against Cherokee and Wheeler, which are a combined 1-12 this season. North Paulding opened in 2008 and has won two region titles. The Wolfpack had lost five straight games against North Cobb, which won region titles five of the past six years.
“Whether we win or lose, we’re going to enjoy it for 48 hours or we’re going to let it bother us for 48 hours, and we’re going to keep playing,” Stark said. “If we come back next week and lose to Etowah, then the race is wide open all over again. But we’re going to enjoy this one and hopefully come back Monday with a sense of purpose and be ready to keep going.”
Both teams entered Friday’s game ranked among the top 10 in Class 7A in points allowed per game; North Paulding was fifth at 13.3, and North Cobb was 10th at 16.4, and both defenses played up to their standards.
North Cobb (4-2, 2-1) held North Paulding to 239 total yards, including just 50 in the first half, and got a touchdown on a 31-yard interception return by Jayden Harris that gave the Warriors a 13-3 lead on the fifth play of the third quarter.
North Paulding’s defense was even better, limiting North Cobb to 217 yards, 65 of which came on a touchdown pass from Ben Halevi to Isaac Saldivar on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 19-11 lead.
Perhaps more important, the Wolfpack was able to keep North Cobb star running back Zach Belyeu under control. The junior was ranked No. 7 in Class 7A rushing with 632 yards, but he was held to 64 yards on 21 carries, 15 of which were for 3 yards or less.
“They’ve been solid all year long,” Stark said of his defense. “They’ve really been the anchor of this football team. We’ve got eight seniors over there that are starting. All these kids grew up together, and they all started together as freshmen. We don’t have a single transfer, and I’m just so proud of these guys and the way they’ve stayed together.”
North Cobb was undone by two missed extra-point attempts. The second one left North Paulding within eight points at 19-11, and the Wolfpack took advantage two possessions later with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Braden Stark to Bryson Niehr and a two-point run by Gavin Clark to tie the game 19-19 with 4:57 left.
Braden Stark, the coach’s son, was held out of the first quarter as a penalty for being late to a workout, but he was 13-of-23 passing for 128 yards and two touchdowns, including a 16-yarder to Darian Smith that got North Paulding within 13-11 with 2:43 left in the third quarter.
“I’m just so proud of our guys and the way they persevered,” Don Stark said. “North Cobb’s a heck of a football team. They’ve got the best defense we’ve played all year. But our guys just kept fighting and grinding and believing and they believed in each other. At the end of the game, it came down to just one play, and we just happened to make one more than they did.”