Eagles rally for 24th straight win; prep football notebook

By The Associated Press

Posted 7:51AM on Sunday, November 4, 2007

MACON - One play kept a streak alive Friday night. Westside-Macon quarterback Orrin McFadden fumbled the ball at the Northside 10 on the second play of the fourth quarter. Instead of possibly having an 11-point lead, the momentum changed, and Northside-Warner Robins came from behind to win 22-12. That gave the Eagles (9-0) their 24th consecutive win. ``When Abry Jones picked up that fumble and ran into Westside territory, it got us going,'' Northside quarterback Joe Scott said. ``We felt we could win it, and we did.'' Westside (7-2) had nationally-ranked Northside backed into a corner heading into the final quarter. Leading 12-7, the Seminoles were on the Northside 22. On third-and-8, McFadden ran on a quarterback keeper to the left side. He ran past the first-down marker and made it all the way to the Northside 6 when he ran into linebacker Eric Fields. The junior stripped the ball from McFadden, and Jones, a defensive lineman, picked up the ball at the 10 and started running. ``I did what Coach always tells us to do when you see a loose ball,'' Jones said. ``You have to pick up the ball and score. I thought I would score, but I got tired at the end.'' Jones returned the ball 57 yards to the Westside 33. With 11:37 remaining, the Northside offense went to work. Tijuan Green ran for 5 yards the next play, which set up Scott's 18-yard pass to Brandon Jordan, who was in the end zone. Scott connected with tight end Evan Arthur for the two-point conversion and the Eagles took a three-point lead. ``That was the difference right there,'' Westside head coach Robert Davis said. ``We fumbled on the 6. They didn't.'' Green finished with 152 yards on 26 carries for Northside. LOWNDES CLINCHES: Lowndes clinched its third Region 1-AAAAA championship in four years with a 28-17 victory over Tift County Friday night. Lowndes' Greg Reid returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, returned an interception 66 yards to set up another Viking touchdown and also rushed for 80 yards on 14 carries. Darriet Perry ran for 108 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. With Tift leading 3-0, after a 32-yard field goal by Jordan West, Reid took the kickoff at Lowndes' 1-yard line, found a hole and raced 99 yards for a touchdown. Tift retook the lead on a 2-yard run by Kaream Hess. Perry put No. 5 Lowndes (8-1) on top for good with a 41-yard touchdown run with 9:23 left in the second quarter. MAYS PREVAILS: Naeem Thomas scored on an 1-yard run in overtime to lift Mays to a 23-17 win over Marist. Mays (7-2) took a 14-7 lead in the first quarter on Bobby Anthony's 1-yard score and a 51-yard touchdown pass from Anthony to Justin Richard. Marist (8-1) tied the game after a Matt Lewis 1-yard TD. Mays went up by three points on a field goal. But Marist surged back and tied the game on a 30-yard field goal by Anthony Hiffa with 11 seconds left to play. In overtime Thomas scored the game winner. N. COBB SURVIVES: Matt Roark and Calvin Middleton each accounted for two touchdowns and North Cobb held off a strong rally to beat Etowah 28-21. North Cobb (9-0) took a 21-0 lead in the second quarter when Roark connected with Rico Mack for a 59-yard touchdown, Roark scored on an 1-yard run and Middleton on a 2-yard run. But Etowah (6-3) put on a rally. Mark Tortorello recoverd a fumble in the endzone in the second quarter then Talyor Majors scored on an 1-yard run to cut the lead to 21-14. North Cobb responded quickly with Middleton's 62-yard touchdown run third, pushing its lead to 14 points.