By By Adam Prestridge
The Northview faithful didn't have a chance to get comfortable before their Chiefs made a statement in the season opener Friday night against Bozeman.
Senior Courtney Whatley dazzled the crowd as he broke loose and returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. The point after kick put the Chiefs on top early, 7-0.
But just as the crowd began to calm down from Whatley's fireworks sophomore Kyle Parish blocked the Bucks' punt on the ensuing drive, which was recovered by sophomore Isaiah Powell. Sophomore running back Nakita Myles scored later for the Chiefs; padding their lead, 14-0.
The Chiefs continued their onslaught for the remainder of the first half as they built a commanding 42-0 lead at halftime. Head coach Cody Keene called off the dogs in the second half and Northview's defense held strong as they went on to a 42-0 win ending a two-year losing streak.
"I'm really proud of our kids," Keene said. "We were 0-7 last year and they've stuck with me and they believe in what we're trying to do. I'm just awful proud of our kids they did a great job. We made too many mistakes tonight and I'm not happy about that, but we're going to work those mistakes out and work hard next week to prepare for the next one."
Northviews last win was a 33-7 home victory over South Walton on Oct. 24, 2003.
Myles was the workhorse on offense for the Chiefs. He nearly surpassed his scoring mark of five touchdowns last year as he carried the ball seven times for 114 yards and three touchdowns, including a 20-yard scamper; a 40-yard dash and a one-yard plunge into the end zone.
"Nakita is a good kid, he ran the ball real hard," Keene said. "He's ran the ball hard all preseason and he ran ball hard tonight. He's real talented."
Myles believes he was more successful Friday night because his vision down the field has gotten better.
"I feel real good," Myles said. "The line went out there and blocked good for me. I improved on my vision a lot and the line improved on their blocking a lot. I'm very proud of that. Next week we've got to go out there, work harder and do the same thing."
Keene agreed with Myles on the offensive line's play.
"I thought our offensive line and our fullbacks worked hard in front of him," Keene said. "I thought Courtney did a great job guiding the offense. I'm just proud of all our kids."
Myles added that the Chiefs' off-season workout program contributed to his success on the gridiron Friday night.
We've been working hard in the weight room and I think it's paying off," he said.
Whatley also scored on a 20-yard run from his quarterback position. Senior fullback Brady Levins also scored for Northview on an 18-yard gallop in the first half.
"I'm not going to look at the score, but I am going to look at the performance," Bozeman head coach Loren Tillman said. "The penalties and turnovers especially in the first half is very displeasing to me and is unacceptable. We're going to have to do a better job. If we're playing good football, that's what matters, and tonight in the first half, we didn't play good football. Northview has very good athletes, I'm not taking anything away from them, but we are better than how we played in the first half."
Defensively for Northview, sophomore Desmond Hunter recovered a fumble in the second quarter and senior Jordan Cook pounced on the loose pigskin in the third quarter. Senior Ahmadh Simpson put an exclamation point on the win for the Chiefs with an interception on the final play of the game.
"I thought the defense chased the ball real hard and I'm proud of them," Keene said. "I don't think we were as physical as I hoped we would be, but this is something we can really build on."
Northview will be at home again next Friday night as they host Sneads. Keene said the Chiefs still have a lot of work to prepare for the game.
"We've got to work on our execution," he said. "We made too many mistakes and have got to keep workin' hard."