By By SCOTT COOPER
Special to The Advance
The Northview Chiefs rolled into Buddy Taylor Memorial Stadium Friday night with an undefeated record and a reputation of possessing an almost unstoppable passing attack.
They did little to diminish that reputation as Kyle Williams passed for 217 yards and four touchdowns and the Chiefs' defense kept Neal's running attack under control as Northview defeated the Blue Eagles, 35-7.
Northview got on the scoreboard on its second possession of the game. After forcing the Blue Eagles to punt on their initial series of downs, the Chiefs began from the Neal 41-yard line and struck quickly.
A first down pass from Williams to Jonathan Andrews was good for six yards. On second down, Williams connected with John Madison on a 35-yard touchdown pass. Jeremy Greenwell kicked the PAT and Northview held a 7-0 lead with 6:28 left in the first quarter.
After holding the Blue Eagles and forcing a punt on Neal's next possession, the Chiefs began their next drive with good field position on the Northview 41-yard line.
Two consecutive runs by Leonte Wright moved the football to the Neal 43-yard line for a first down. A first down pass incompletion followed by a five yard Williams to Andrews pass connection put the Chiefs on the Blue Eagles' 38-yard line. On third down, Neal's Kevin Baggett broke through the line and sacked Northview's Williams for an 8-yard loss, forcing the Chiefs to punt.
Nothview attempted to catch the Blue Eagles off guard by faking the punt, but Roc Herbert thwarted the attempt by making the tackle and putting the Blue Eagles in business at their own 44-yard line.
A first down run by Alonzo Gross moved the ball to the Northview 17-yard line. Percy Richardson carried the ball on two straight plays for seven yards. Then, on third down and 3-yards to go for the first, Gross took the pitchout and sprinted around right end for a 10-yard touchdown run. Nick Benjamin booted the PAT and the game was tied 7-7 with 56 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Chiefs took the lead for good with their first possession of the second quarter.
Beginning from the Northview 35-yard line following the Neal score, two pass receptions by Daryl Cohen coupled with two Blue Eagles' penalties placed the ball on the Neal 29-yard line. Wright then gained 20 yards on a run. On the next play, Williams hit O'Neil Dubose on a 9-yard pass play. Chase Lashley finished the drive by taking the handoff straight up the middle and covering the remaining two yards for the touchdown. Greenwell's PAT kick was good to give the Chiefs a 14-7 lead with 9:39 to go in the first half.
Following the Northview score, Neal began its next series on the 50-yard line and proceeded to march down the field.
A run by Richardson netted four yards, followed by a 1-yard run by Gross. Benjamin then passed to Marcus Folmar for a 20-yard gain to the Northview 25-yard line. However, the Blue Eagles' lost a fumble on the next play to end the drive and give the Chiefs possession on the Northview 35-yard line.
It took the Chiefs only three plays to extend their lead. A 40-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Mandell Smith and the successful PAT by Greenwell made the score 21-7.
After recovering a Northview fumble on the Chief's 48-yard line late in the quarter, the Blue Eagles mounted a drive and looked as though they might cut into the Northview lead.
A Benjamin to Grayson Peters pass and a Rodney Floyd run put the football on the Chiefs' 11-yard line with under 20 seconds left before intermission. But, the Northview defense came up big on the next play and registered a sack as time expired in the half.
Beginning the third quarter, the Chiefs began another scoring drive from their 15-yard line after holding the Blue Eagles and forcing a punt.
Two runs by Wright moved the ball to the Northview 35-yard line. A Dubose pass reception followed by a Dubose run put the ball on the Neal 20-yard line. Wright gained three yards on a run and a Williams to Cohen pass netted ten yards to the Blue Eagles' 7-yard line. After a half-the-distance penalty on Neal, Williams passed to Smith for the touchdown. The PAT failed and the Chiefs led 27-7.
Northview got a big play from its defensive unit on Neal's next possession as Cohen intercepted a Blue Eagles' pass and returned it to the Neal 37-yard line.
The Chiefs took seven plays to cash in the opportunity, with the touchdown coming on a 27-yard pass play from Williams to Andrews. The two-point play was converted and the scoring ended with Northview on top 35-7.
Both teams close out the regular season next Friday night as the Chiefs host the Escambia County Blue Devils, while the Blue Eagles play hosts to the T.R. Miller Tigers.