Whenever Greenwood got within striking distance, Northside seemed to always have an answer.

After the Bulldogs cut the Grizzlies’ lead to four points late in the third quarter, Northside responded with a seven-play touchdown drive. Then when Greenwood made it a one-possession game with more than 10 minutes left, Northside was able to deliver another TD to put things away, winning 31-16 Friday at Mayo-Thompson Stadium.

Northside’s defense, which pitched a shutout in the team’s season opener last week, gave up a first-quarter touchdown. But the Grizzlies kept the new-look Bulldog offense out of the end zone the rest of the way.

“The defense did great,” Northside coach Mike Falleur said. “We have to do a better job tackling, but they did great. ... (Greenwood is) a very good football team, but we were fortunate to win.”

With Northside (2-0) up 17-7 at the outset of the second half, Greenwood (0-1) forced a fumble and a bad snap on a punt to get the ball in Grizzly territory each time, but the Grizzlies’ defense held on both occasions.

Grant Ennis kicked field goals of 40 and 37 yards, the latter which cut Northside’s lead to four, 17-13, with 4:21 left in the third.

But the Grizzlies responded on the next series. Facing a third-and-5 from their 25, tailback Eli Bolton took a hand-off and darted 65 yards to the Bulldog 10.

Four plays later, faced with a third-and-goal from the Greenwood 4, Northside finished.

After fielding a bad snap, quarterback Deuce Wise quickly recovered and found a wide-open Jackson King, who took it in for the touchdown. Henry Hernandez kicked the PAT to make it 24-13.

“That (Bolton’s run) was huge,” Falleur said. “They were fixing to stop us again and get the ball back again.”

Ennis kicked his third field goal of the night, a 33-yarder with 10:34 left, to force another one-possession game.

Greenwood then got the ball back after forcing the Grizzlies to punt and were able to reach Northside territory. But on a fourth down from the Grizzly 39, pressure from the Northside defense forced an incomplete pass.

Northside then took over at its own 39 and put together an eight-play drive to essentially seal the game. Runs from DeMarion Shepard and Wise led to first downs; then a 22-yard keeper from Wise on third down put the ball at the Bulldog 1.

King, whose fumble early in the second half set up the Bulldogs’ first field goal, got some more redemption with his second TD of the night, a 1-yard plunge with 3:06 remaining.

Greenwood made one final push, making it down to the Northside 9 for a first-and-goal. But the Grizzlies, led by linemen Raytel Rone and Khaden Washington and linebacker Anthony Travis, came up with three consecutive sacks.


Then on fourth down, Bulldog quarterback Peyton Holt’s pass to the end zone was knocked away by Northside cornerback Tyriq Adams with 10 seconds left on the clock, closing out the Grizzlies’ win.

Northside out-gained the Bulldogs, 342-278, including a 265-70 edge in rushing. Bolton finished with 105 yards on 10 carries while Wise added 97 yards on 20 carries.

The Grizzlies also responded when Greenwood took its 7-0 lead in the first quarter, moving 80 yards in eight plays, capped by Bolton’s 4-yard TD run and Hernandez’s PAT, tying the score.

Northside then forced a punt on the next series, but it never materialized. A bad snap took place, and Northside’s Stetson VanMatre was able to tackle the punter at the Greenwood 21.

The Grizzlies needed four plays, all Wise runs, to score again. Wise’s 5-yard keeper early in the second quarter gave Northside its first lead of the night, 14-7.

Right before halftime, set up by a 66-yard pass from Wise to J.T. Thorne down to the Bulldog 11, Hernandez gave the Grizzlies a 17-7 lead with a 32-yard field goal.

Holt, a converted receiver, completed 18-of-30 passes for 208 yards, and receiver Luke Leonard had eight of those catches for 57 yards.

The Bulldogs’ lone TD came on their second series of the game, a 10-yard run by Marc Jones. Ennis’ PAT made it 7-0, but it was a short-lived lead.
