By LIBBY PUGH
News Sportswriter
If the amount of school spirit could have won the game for the Northview Chiefs, they would have another victory under their belt. The “Battle on the Line” was a rivalry game you would not have wanted to miss. The Chiefs and the Escambia Academy Cougars battled it out Friday night, and the Cougars came out on top with a score of 27 to 22.
“The game turned out to be all it was promised” Coach Wes Summerford commented after the game. It was a tough loss for our players, but our talk after the game was all about responding positive and taking it as an opportunity to learn where we need to improve.”
The Chiefs won the coin toss, and they elected to receive the ball the second half. The Cougars came out strong. In their first possession, the Cougars drove down the field to score the first touchdown of the night followed by an extra point attempt that was good. The Chiefs then received the ball and fought hard to score. On fourth down, the Chiefs opted to try for the first down, but they came up short. The ball was turned over on downs. The Cougars offense tried to score before the end of the first quarter, but the quarter ended with a score of 7 to 0, Escambia Academy on top.
The second quarter was a battle between the defenses. At the beginning of the quarter, the Cougars were in position to score, but they fumbled the ball. The Chiefs recovered the ball and drove down the field trying to score. They were unsuccessful and were forced to punt on fourth down. The Chiefs defense stayed strong and forced the Cougars to also punt on fourth down. The offense for the Chiefs was then unable to make the first down again their next drive, so they punted on fourth down. At the end of the second quarter, the Cougars were still only up by 7 points, as the score was 7 to 0.
Although the Chiefs had a tough first half, they came out in the third quarter ready to get on top. As the Chiefs drove down the field on their first drive of the second half, sophomore Kaden Odom threw a long 64-yard pass to senior Logan Bryan. The extra point attempt was blocked by the Cougars. The Chiefs defense then forced the Cougars to punt. Only a few minutes after the first Chiefs touchdown, quarterback Odom found senior running back Jayden Jackson for an 81- yard touchdown. The Chiefs opted to go for 2 extra points, and Jackson was able to run it in to make the score 14 to 7. The Cougars responded with a touchdown after keeping the ball for several minutes. Only seconds after the Chiefs received the ball, Odom threw an interception, and the Cougars ended the third quarter with another touchdown. The score at the end of the quarter was 21 to 14.
The third quarter was filled with the Chiefs and the Cougars taking turns in the lead, and the fourth quarter would be no different. The Chiefs started off with the ball, and Jackson was able to make 2 hard runs and score. Jackson also was able to score, when the Chiefs opted to go for 2 extra points again. The Cougars responded with a touchdown, but they were unable to score, as they opted to go for 2 extra points.
The end of the game was definitely back and forth, when both the Chief and Cougar offenses were unable to keep the ball due to turnovers. The Chiefs ended their second game of the season with a 27 to 22 loss.
The overall player of the game for the Chiefs was senior Jonathan Windam. Jackson was the offensive player of the game, and sophomore Jamarkus Jefferson was the defensive player of the game. The special teams player of the game was senior Keyshawn Breedlove.
Hopefully the Chiefs will be able to gain some momentum and rebound from their loss, as they will be on the road for their next game against Walton High School this week.
Coach Summerford said, “We really need a fast start and to hit on all cylinders early. We want this game to get us back on track. Go Chiefs!”
Gas up Chief fans, and come out to support your team!