By By Matthew Nascone
The stout defense of the Northview Chiefs proved to be too much for the Holmes County Bonifay Blue Devils Monday night in the high school version of Monday Night Football, as the Chiefs won 42-7.
There might not have been any Tony Kornheiser or Ron Jaworski, but there was plenty of smashmouth defense to go around as the Chiefs held Bonifay to 100 total offensive yards and -9 yards rushing.
"This was a good win for our kids," NHS head coach Cody Keene said. "I am proud of them. The enthusiasm out there was great."
The game was scheduled for Friday night, but all Escambia County (Fla.) athletic events scheduled for Friday were postponed because of the weather projected to hit the panhandle.
The delay did not hinder the Chiefs (2-2, 1-0 FHSAA Class 2B, District 1), as they scored first when senior fullback Farrin Jackson crossed the goal line in the first quarter. Junior placekicker James Hamilton missed the PAT and NHS had an early 6-0 lead, but Bonifay (1-2, 01) answered with a score and took a 7-6 lead in the first quarter.
Jackson intercepted the Bonifay quarterback with 4:23 to go in the first half and the Chiefs drove 45 yards for a 14-7 lead. Sophomore quarterback Tarus Thomas punched it in from three yards out and senior running back Nakita Myles rushed right for the two-point conversion with 1:18 to go in the half.
"Our kids played hard and they kept fighting until we could feel the momentum shifting towards the end of the half," Keene said. "We still haven't played how I think we can, but maybe this game was a stepping stone for us."
The teams traded non-scoring possessions for the first four minutes of the second half until NHS senior Adam Wieborg blocked a punt and Myles rumbled 11 yards on the next play for a touchdown. Hamilton booted the PAT through the uprights and NHS held a 21-7 lead.
The Northview defense shut down the Blue Devils and the offense kept piling up the points.
"We had a tremendous effort in the second half and it was a complete team effort," Keene said. "I am proud of how they came back after we were struggling a little bit in the first half. We made some adjustments on offense and on defense at halftime and the guys stepped up and made plays."
The Chiefs made plays to the tune of 28 unanswered points in the second half.
Myles ran 11 yards for his second touchdown of the game to cap a 25-yard drive for the Chiefs on the second play of the fourth quarter. Hamilton's PAT was true and NHS went up 28-7.
Following a bad snap on a punt attempt the Chiefs took over on the Bonifay 11-yard line and Myles punched it in for his third touchdown. Hamilton gave the Chiefs a 35-7 lead.
Freshman running back Desmond Hayes capped the scoring with a 30-yard touchdown run with 6:25 to go in the game. Hamilton booted the PAT through and NHS had a 42-7 lead.
Myles, Jackson and Thomas combined for 162 yards rushing for the game. Bonifay head coach Andy Howell believed the backs were the reason NHS pulled away in the second half.
"They are the same team we faced last year," Howell said. "They have some great backs who can find the holes and they are hard to stop."
Myles had 79 yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns, Jackson carried the rock seven times for 22 yards and a touchdown and Thomas had 61 yards on six carries with a touchdown. Thomas also was 3-for-5 through the air with 28 yards.
On defense Northview recovered three fumbles, had two interceptions and six sacks. Sophomore defensive end John Sellars had three of those sacks. Myles and Jackson accounted for the interceptions and Wieborg, senior defensive end David Amerson and junior linebacker Luke Killam each recovered a fumble.
The win was the first district win of the season for the Chiefs and Keene said that is an important one.
"This was a big district win for our team," he said. "I was worried about how they would play since it was on Monday, but they came out and played great. I am very proud of them."
The Chiefs do not play this Friday, but they resume district play Oct. 5 against Baker at home. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.