Justin Northwest shrugs off slow start to grab a share of district title over Brewer
The way Friday night’s football game was going, Brewer was on its way to some history and staying undefeated in district play.
But Northwest lit a fire late in the first half to turn things around.
The Texans scored 21 unanswered points in the final 90 seconds of the second quarter and finished with a 42-7 run to beat the Bears, 42-17 at Brewer, claiming at least a share of the district title.
Northwest (7-2 overall, 6-0 District 3-5A D1) captures its third district trophy in four years.
“We knew we had a lot of guys coming back. We didn’t finish the way we wanted to last year, but we knew the experience that we were going to have something special,” Northwest coach Bill Poe said. “This group of players, they grind, they work and they love and have a passion for this game. I couldn’t be more proud.”
The Texans finish the regular season at home against Azle. A win will give them the outright title and top playoff seed. An Azle win and Brewer win against Fort Worth Arlington Heights, will create a tri-championship with seeding determined by points. Northwest will get the No. 1 seed with a win or loss to Azle by 16 or fewer points.
“It’s a great feeling,” said Northwest quarterback Jake Strong. “We made school history winning the first district championship for 5A D1. It’s a big deal for us, the school and community. But we also have to stay humble and hungry and focus on the next one. We can’t allow one victory to get our heads big, we have to keep working and prepare for Azle.”
The Bears (7-2, 5-1) started hot with an early 10-0 lead.
Brewer had a long drive during its second possession, but the Northwest defense forced a 32-yard field goal by Bears’ kicker Alex Andrade.
Northwest couldn’t move the ball, having to punt on its four drives.
The Texans were forced to punt for a third time, but the snap went over the punter’s head and downed at the Northwest 13 for a loss of 26 yards.
Brewer extended its lead to two scores after Montrail Cushionberry ran in a 2-yard touchdown run with 3:23 left in the second quarter. The Bears used a fake punt to keep the drive going, thanks to a run from Andrade.
During Northwest’s fifth drive of the first half, it appeared the Texans were going to punt after Brewer got to Strong for a 2-yard loss.
There was a penalty on the play, on Brewer, which the refs waved off, but after a timeout, the crew moved the ball up for a Northwest first down to extend the drive. The Texans capitalized by finishing off with a 9-yard touchdown from Strong to cut the Brewer lead to 10-7 with 1:33 left before intermission.
Northwest took the lead for good at 14-10 after Tyran Magee blocked a Brewer punt and recovered at the 6. Strong hit Logan Jeskevic in the end zone on the next play.
“We needed to get into a rhythm. We had a slow start and we weren’t clicking like we were hoping. That blocked punt was a big momentum swing for us,” Poe said. “I’m just so proud of the kids and coaching staff, proud of our defense. When you can hold Brewer, who was averaging 51 points per game, to 17 points...our defense played phenomenal.”
Northwest’s defense then intercepted its second Brewer pass, this time from Ashton Peterson, that gave the Texans the ball back with 29 seconds left at the Brewer 44. Strong was able to hit two receivers to get the ball inside the 5, then threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Kenan Reil to give the Texans a 21-10 lead at halftime.
“People ask about momentum in football and it’s a real thing,” Strong said. “All the turnovers they had, brings momentum for the offense and it carries over in all aspects of the game.”
Brewer got back in the game when Cushionberry scored on a 10-yard run to trim the lead to 21-17 early in the third quarter. Quarterback Jaylen Spriggs hit Keiran Patrick-Daniels for a 60-yard gain on the drive.
But that’s as close as Brewer would get.
Northwest added a touchdown in the third quarter, a Strong 8-yard run, and two in the fourth quarter, a 25-yard run from Kyle Cummings and 2-yard run from Ricardo Dyer.
Strong threw for 108 yards and two scores and added 20 carries for 120 yards and two more. Cummings added 64 yards and a score on nine rushes. Shannon Danicki led the receiving core with three receptions and 78 yards with catches of 33, 21 and 24 yards.
Northwest picked off two passes (Peterson, Parker Matthews) and recovered a fumble (Holden Bodie).
“It’s about executing and being consistent. You can’t let the big plays determine who you are as a defense. You’re going to mess up. It’s the next play mentality,” Peterson said. “We’re going to be more physical than every team we play. We may be undersized, but we’ll hit you in the mouth, guaranteed.”
Cushionberry led Brewer with 31 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Spriggs threw for 165.
This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 12:23 AM.
