By LEXXI BAGGETT
News Sports Writer
It was the last game of the season, and playoffs are not an option for the Northview Chiefs this year, but there was a sweet victory in Bratt this past Friday night as the Chiefs dominated Foley’s Snook Christian school with a 53-38 win.
“To be ending the season with a victory, especially for our seniors, on the night we recognize them, is such a great feeling,” Head Coach Derek Marshman said after the game.
Northview hangs up its helmets and shoulder pads for the year with a 2 and 8 season, something that has not been easy for the Chiefs to tolerate.
From the beginning of play, ninth-grader Jayden Jackson ran an impressive almost-80 yards to give the Chiefs the first points of the night. This obviously set the tone for the rest of the night. Before the half was up, Tim Bush, a Chiefs senior, had plowed through Snook Christian’s impressive defensive middle and added 6 more, making the score 12 to 0. The Chiefs caught up from the earlier missed extra point by earning a quick 2-point conversion. Daniel Merit’s quick thinking helped the Chiefs by recovering a bad kick, and setting Jayden Jackson to score again. Extra point was good. Score was 21 to 0. Snook Christian would not end the first half, however, without scoring 2 touchdowns, but the Chiefs added a Justin Helton touchdown as well. Score going into the half was 28 to 14.
The Chiefs’ determination that fans have been hoping for all season finally kicked in, and during the second half, 3 more touchdowns were added thanks to Aunterior Minor, Adam Aliff and 2 more touchdowns by Tim Bush. Snook added another 2 touchdowns because of an interception and a power run close to the end of the game, making the final score 53-38.
There were only 7 seniors on Northview’s team this year, and 2 of those were first-year players; however, Coach Marshman and his coaching staff said that all of these players had “grit and heart.” Grit and heart will be what it will take to hopefully get things ready for a dedicated spring season and ultimately a powerful fall for next year.
Northview’s band and cheerleaders have shown extreme school spirit throughout the season. Let’s keep the momentum going and keep cheering each other on!
Northview’s senior football players are Beau Bryan, Tim Bush, Jason Fischer, Matthew Glover, Justin Helton, Andrew Sharpless, and Hunter Spence.
Now on to girls’ weightlifting!