By By Chandler Myers
Like wild mustangs rumbling through an open field, Bratt, Fla.’s Northview Chiefs made the trip to Bonifay, Fla. and trampled over the Holmes County Blue Devils with 359 yards of offense all of which came on the ground.
The Chiefs (4-1, 3-1) ran away from the Blue Devils en route to a 33-19 victory with three different players scoring touchdowns in the victory.
Chiefs head coach Sid Wheatley said his team's performance was one of the best and worst he had seen this season.
"We played one of our besthalves and one of worse halves this year," he said. "We talked at halftime about finishing the game, but I don't feel we finished it like we should have. A win is a win though, and this was a very important district win."
Leading the way for the Chiefs was senior running back Shakel Holmes who rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns on three carries.
Junior Dustin Yuhasz and senior Kadaris Grice supported Holmes in the ground and scoring game. Yuhasz carried the ball 12 times for 74 yards and a touchdown, while Grice scored two touchdowns on 21 yards rushing.
Senior Jeremy Jackson and freshman La'Mikal Kyles had strong performances with Jackson picking up 71 yards and Kyles 63 of his own.
Wheatley said his team had one of their strongest performances offensively. He added that while the offense played well there are still mistakes to correct.
"We were able to run the ball extremely well," he said. "They couldn't stop us, but we did stop ourselves a few times with some turnovers. Our backfield did do a fantastic job of picking up yards and going in the right direction."
Defensively, the Chiefs stopped the Blue Devils in the fourth quarter when it mattered most.
Chiefs junior linebacker Levi Gideons led the way for Northview's defense as he recorded eight tackles in the important district win.
Senior linebacker Steven Long and senior defensive linebacker Sean Knight each had six stops.
Wheatley said his defense made plays all over the field despite fatigue setting in during the second half.
"Our defense did a great job," he said. "The second half they got tired, and gave up some plays later, but they stopped them when we need them too."
Next week, the Chiefs play an important district game against Freeport High School.
A win could put the Chiefs in a spot to win the district and make the playoffs.
Wheatley said his team is going back to work Monday to improve on their ball security, and he added that winning next week gives the Chiefs great opportunities.
"Monday, we are going to work on ball security with some very intense ball carrying drills," he said. "We still have an opportunity to win the district and a win would make that possibility even better."
Northview and Freeport play at Northview next Friday with the kick off at 7 p.m.