Northwest bogs down Gilmer

Published 9:30 pm Friday, October 9, 2015

TUNNEL HILL — As potent as Northwest Whitfield’s defense has been this season, the Bruins might not mind playing more games in the mud. The offense apparently doesn’t mind to play in the rain much any more either.

The defense held Gilmer’s signature running attack to less than 100 yards, and the Bruins’ offense had nearly 400 yards of total offense in the first half alone in a 38-7 dismantling of the Bobcats Friday night in a game that featured two lightning delays.

“We should be pretty used to this by now,” said Northwest coach Josh Robinson, whose team has had three games this season affected by lightning. “We might not be as good on a dry field now after having played in all of this rain.”

No matter what the conditions, there was little to find wrong with the Bruins on the offensive side of the ball, even in the slippery conditions. Sophomore quarterback Luke Shiflett was 9 of 15 for 257 yards and four touchdowns. Freshman running back Dominique Sistrunk had 11 carries for 111 yards, including an 80-yard scoring run that appeared to have been stopped at the line of scrimmage before Sistrunk burst out of the pile and sprinted away from the Bobcats.

“We came out in a rhythm tonight offensively, and it has been probably since the Cedartown or Ringgold game since we really did that,” Robinson said. “We haven’t been able to do that much, but when it happens it is something to see. We are just trying to build off that and keep improving as we go.”

With Sistrunk and Sebastian Orozco handling the running game, Shiflett spread his targeting around. A 34-yard run by Orozco set up his first scoring strike, hitting Jay Jones on a 5-yard pass on Northwest’s opening possession.

After the defense forced the second three-and-out in as many possessions, Shiflett lined up at punter and converted a fourth down with a 14-yard run. On the next play, he hit Will Blanchard with a 55-yard scoring strike for a 14-0 lead.

Sistrunk added his score early in the second quarter, and then Shiflett hit Jones to set up Blanchard’s second scoring reception — this one from 40 yards out and a 28-0 lead.

Gilmer finally got on the board late in the second quarter after a breakdown in the Northwest secondary left Thaddeus Bowers wide open for a 63-yard touchdown pass from David Smith.

Northwest added a 37-yard field goal by Vincente Vaca before the end of the first half to take a 31-7 lead before the rains and the lightning came.

Play resumed for the second half kickoff after a 30-minute delay, but then the teams were sent back to the locker rooms, delaying the second half even longer.

When play resumed, Northwest didn’t let up with Jones scoring on a 48-yard reception for his second score.

The win, combined with Southeast Whitfield’s loss to Pickens on Friday, now has the Bruins in control of their playoff fate in Region 7-4A. Northwest (5-2 overall, 3-1 in the region) faces No. 1-ranked Cartersville on the road next week. If the Bruins win their final three games, they will be the region champions. If they win two of their last three, they will host a playoff game. Northwest’s only region loss came against Southeast in the first region game of the year.

“Even after the loss to Southeast, we believed that we would have a big part to play in this race,” Robinson said. “Now, all of the other things have lined up in the right direction and now we control our own fate. That is all you could ask for as a coach and it is very exciting.”

Gilmer falls to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the region.