Eighth-ranked Westlake broke open the game with a 27-0 run midway through the first half and put it away with two third-quarter touchdowns in a two-minute span in a 52-28 victory over North Cobb in the teams’ season opener Friday night in Kennesaw.
Westlake’s Naeem Odeniyi rushed for three touchdowns and 79 yards on 13 carries. Travis Smith Jr. caught five passes for 174 yards and had touchdown receptions of 82 and 60 yards from Sean Smith, who was 9-for-15 passing for 230 yards and four touchdowns. Christian Peterson ran for 63 yards on seven carries and caught two touchdown passes. Westlake finished with 406 total yards.
The victory was Westlake’s fifth in six years in season openers and avenged the one loss in that stretch, a 21-17 setback against North Cobb last season.
For North Cobb, it was the first game of a rugged early part of the schedule. The Warriors will also face No. 1 Buford, Marietta, Class 6A No. 10 Northside-Warner Robins and No. 6 Milton in non-region games before opening Region 5-7A play against No. 5 Walton.
The turning point Friday night came early in the second quarter. North Cobb trailed 13-8 and had the ball deep in Westlake territory but turned it over on downs with an incomplete pass on fourth-and-5 at the Westlake 13. Three plays later, Sean Smith and Travis Smith teamed up on their 82-yard touchdown pass for a 20-8 lead.
The Lions got the ball right back three plays later when North Cobb fumbled and Westlake recovered at the Warriors’ 4-yard line. Odeniyi scored from the 1 to make it 27-8 with 6:06 to play in the half.
Westlake also turned a North Cobb fumble into a short touchdown drive in the third quarter for a 45-28 lead.
“They were huge plays in the game,” Westlake coach Rico Zackery said. “We always talk about being able to capitalize when we get opportunities and make some explosive plays, because explosive plays win games. And defensively, we always talk about getting the ball back to the offense, so having the opportunity to get those turnovers right there was big for us.”
North Cobb scored in five plays on its first possession, driving 50 yards to take the lead on a 5-yard touchdown run by David Eziomume. After a penalty on Westlake, North Cobb went for the 2-point conversion and got it on a run by quarterback Nick Grimstead for an 8-0 lead.
Westlake scored on its next four possessions to take a 27-8 lead. North Cobb got within 33-22 by halftime and trailed just 33-28 after a 31-yard touchdown run by Grimstead with 6:14 remaining in the third quarter, but Westlake scored the final 19 points of the game.
Grimstead rushed for 60 yards on 10 carries and was 14-for-22 passing for 183 yards. Eziomume ran for 73 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
“It was the first game, and we knew that there’s going to be a lot of mistakes and a lot of things you’re going to have to fix,” Zackery said. “There was a lot of nervous energy. We’ll go back and look at the tape and get it corrected.”
Westlake - 13-20-12-7 - 52
North Cobb - 8-14-6-0 - 28
First quarter
NC - David Eziomume 5 run (Nick Grimstead run), 8:49
W - Naeem Odeniyi 1 run (Joseph Bobbit kick), 4:48
W - Christian Peterson 7 pass from Sean Smith (kick failed), 1:28
Second quarter
W - Travis Smith Jr. 82 pass from Sean Smith (Bobbit kick), 8:10
W - Odeniyi 1 run (Bobbit kick), 6:06
NC - Eziomume 37 run (Mustafa Mohamad kick), 4:12
W - Peterson 15 pass from Sean Smith (kick blocked), 0:51
NC - T.J. Smith 33 pass from Grimstead (Mohamad kick), 0:18
Third quarter
NC - Grimstead 31 run (pass failed), 6:14
W - Travis Smith Jr. 60 pass from Sean Smith (kick blocked), 4:51
W - Odeniyi 15 run (kick failed), 2:58
Fourth quarter
W - Tomir Bransford 20 run (Bobbit kick), 6:46
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