Chiefs stop Royals
Published 1:22 am Saturday, October 6, 2012
It’s difficult to know which of LaMykal Kyles’ three touchdowns was most important for the Northview Chiefs in their 62-14 win over the Jay Royals Friday night.
His first touchdown tied the game at 7-7. His second touchdown gave the Chiefs their first lead of the game to make it 21-14. His third touchdown gave the Chiefs a big boost of confidence, as they took a commanding 28-14 lead just before halftime.
The game did not start out well for the Chiefs, as they quickly fell behind 7-0 on the first of Jay quarterback Tate Upton’s two passing touchdowns, this one to receiver Hunter Dillashaw. The Chiefs were forced to punt the ball away on their first offensive possession, but the defense followed that with a strong outing as Jay was forced to punt after three plays.
From there, the offense shifted between Kyles making strong runs and quarterback Kevin Vaughan connecting with receiver Neiko Robinson. Vaughan completed a 14-yard pass to Robinson to get the Chiefs to the four-yard line and at that point, Kyles got the ball into the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.
While Robinson and LaMikal Banks made strong defensive plays, Upton managed to find another big hole in the defense to score another passing touchdown and put the Chiefs behind 14-7.
On the very next play, Neino Robinson fielded a line-drive kickoff after it took a bounce and headed the other way, quickly finding a crease in the defense and heading more than 50 yards for a touchdown to tie it up at 14-14.
On the ensuing defensive drive, Neiko Robinson had a tackle for a loss and nearly intercepted the ball on third down, forcing the Royals to punt.
On the first play for the offense, Kyles ran the ball 56 yards for a touchdown to put Northview in the lead 21-14. They would never relinquish the lead from that point forward.
Just before halftime, the Chiefs padded their lead when Kyles scored from two yards out to put the score at 28-14. The combination of putting the ball in the hands of Kyles and Kevin Vaughan completing passes to Neiko Robinson continued to work for the team.
After a Neiko Robinson reception from Kevin Vaughan touchdown was called back due to a penalty, the Chiefs found the end zone a second time when LaDarius Thomas carried the ball in from four yards out to make the score 35-14.
On the following defensive possession, the Chiefs managed to force a fumble. The offense was able to convert the turnover into points when Neino Robinson caught a bubble screen from Vaughan and made some moves around defenders that eventually led to a touchdown from just beyond 20 yards out. At that point, it was 42-14 in favor of the Chiefs.
After another strong stop from the Northview defense that included an audible hit from Jeffrey Taylor, the Chiefs offense once again did their part when Thomas found the end zone again, this time from 53 yards out to make the score 49-14.
The Chiefs offense didn’t stop there. On their next drive, Kyles picked up another 34 yards of rushing on one play. From there, backup quarterback Dalton Tullis found receiver Juron Myles for another Chiefs touchdown to put the score at 56-14.
After another stop by the defense, the Chiefs decided to add one more score, this one coming from a familiar name: LaDarius Thomas.
Thomas managed his third rushing touchdown of the game from 31 yards out. Starting quarterback Kevin Vaughan missed his first extra-point attempt of the night, but finished with eight out of nine overall.
After the game head coach Sid Wheatley was quick to hand praise out to Thomas for his strong performance that included three rushing touchdowns.
Wheatley had also congratulated Neino Robinson and pointed out that Neino’s special teams abilities will be critical as the team continues to try to finish the season strong.
“Any time you feel you’re in a close game, special teams can make a difference,” Wheatley said. “There may be a day where teams decide to kick away from him, but he’s definitely a special player for us.”
The win pushed the Chiefs record to 4-2 overall. Northview will travel to Freeport next Friday to face the Bulldogs for another important district game with kickoff set for 7 p.m.