Bruins only stopped by themselves in rout

Published 12:46 am Saturday, August 20, 2016

RINGGOLD — Returning nearly every skill position starter from what was already a rather potent offense, there were lofty expectations for the Northwest Whitfield High School offense going into the season. If the first game against Ringgold on Friday night was any indication, the hype was warranted.

The Bruins racked up 499 yards of total offense en route to a 49-24 victory against the Tigers, led by a steady performance from starting quarterback Luke Shiflett. The junior was 15 of 19 for 266 yards and two touchdowns through the air and added 12 carries for 124 yards on the ground with another touchdown.

But it was far from a one-man show as the Bruins’ running backs combined to rush for 109 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries and senior receiver Jay Jones had eight catches for 154 yards and a touchdown.

The only thing that could stop the Bruins in the first half was themselves. Three turnovers were the only reason the Bruins didn’t score until they finally punted for the first time with six minutes left in the game and the starters on the bench with a 33-point lead. The Bruins also had seven penalties for 75 yards.

“We definitely played well, offensively we put up 49 points and the defense held well,” Northwest coach Josh Robinson said. “Lots of teams on our schedule can beat us, but if we do what we are supposed to do and take care of the ball then we have a chance to do something really special on offense. The penalties were disappointing and they will pay the price on Monday, but those are typical first-game mistakes and obviously we played pretty well.”

Shiflett’s athleticism was on display from the opening drive as he saw a hole on the first play from scrimmage and ran up the middle for 22 yards. Later in the drive he connected with Jones for 21 yards and running back Dominique Sistrunk ran it in from one yard away for the first score of the season. The drive took just over three minutes to go 69 yards.

The Tigers fumbled on their first play from scrimmage and Garrett Bowen pounced on top of it. But the Bruins returned the favor with a fumble on a pitch and the Tigers recovered. After the Bruins forced a punt, Shiflett again hit Jones, who made some people miss and got to the edge for a 59-yard gain to the one-yard line. After a penalty, Sistrunk rumbled in from six yards for his second score and a 14-0 lead.

The Bruins’ defense forced a three-and-out and a nice punt return by Seth Godfrey gave Northwest the ball at the Ringgold 17-yard line, Shiflett made his first mistake of the young season, throwing the ball directly to a Ringgold defender for an interception.

“Luke had an uncharacteristic mistake early on a throw that was clearly not there, but he’s human and makes mistakes,” Robinson said. “The offensive line had some really good moments tonight, too, but they had some really bonehead moments, too. We have a lot to fix but overall it was a good game.”

Ringgold failed to capitalize on the turnover as the Bruins forced another three-and-out. Northwest then went on a long, 12-play drive highlighted by a powerful 38-yard run by Sistrunk. Shiflett capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run for a 21-0 lead.

The Tigers answered with their biggest play of the night, a 67-yard catch and run by Ty Jones for a touchdown. The play was the result of a blown coverage on defense, one of the few mistakes the Bruins’ defense made on the night.

“Overall we did pretty good,” Northwest linebacker Chase Blackwell said. “We came out how I expected us to, playing fast. … They are real slippery and they can get out of a tackle, but I thought we did a good job of correcting it and we all ran to the ball like we are supposed to.”

On Ringgold’s point after attempt, a bad snap forced holder Michael Layman to scramble to the corner for the conversion. Northwest running back Sebastian Orozco then added a 6-yard touchdown run with five minutes remaining and the Bruins had a bad snap of their own on the point after, which caused a failed conversion to make the score 27-8.

After the Bruins forced a turnover on downs, they got the ball back with just under a minute remaining in the half. A 13-yard pass to Caleb Womac and a 31-yard pass to Jones got them in position to take a shot at the end zone with the final play, and junior Will Blanchard got behind the defense for a 37-yard touchdown as time expired. Tanner Boyd connected on a pass with Alex Kitchens for the two-point conversion and a 35-7 halftime lead.

“We had some mistakes but it’s the first game and that’s going to happen,” Shiflett said. “I am glad we got them out of the way early. The defense played great and we got the big stops we needed. The big moment was that score right before the half, I think that was the dagger.”

Ringgold opened the second half with a turnover on downs, and Orozco capitalized with a 2-yard touchdown run. He finished the game with 20 yards on seven carries and two scores, while Sistrunk had 74 yards on eight carries and his two touchdowns. The Bruins’ defense also got its second turnover of the game as Connor Romo recovered a fumble in the third quarter.

The Tigers got back on the scoreboard with two minutes remaining in the period on a 27-yard pass from quarterback Cole Kibler to Mac Brower, then Shiflett connected with Jones for a 5-yard score to take the lead to 49-16 at the end of the third quarter. The Bruins then pulled the starters and Ringgold running back Dee King added a 1-yard touchdown for the final score.

Jones said the Bruins knew that there were high expectations placed on the team this season, but he is confident in their ability to meet them.

“I think it was a great first game,” Jones said. “We came out really excited and thought we had something to prove and needed to make a statement. We have some little stuff we have to clean up, but we know that if we stay calm and play like we are capable of we’ll be fine.”

The Bruins return to action on Friday with the home opener against South Atlanta at 7:30 p.m.