TUNNEL HILL, Ga. — As a defensive-minded head coach, there was little for Northwest Whitfield’s Josh Robinson to complain about after Thursday night’s 35-13 home win over county neighbor Coahulla Creek in the season opener for both teams.
The Bruins raced out to a 29-0 halftime lead as they outgained the Colts 227 yards to 30 over the opening 24 minutes in winning for the seventh time in eight overall meetings.
“I thought we played well defensively, especially in the first half,” Robinson said. “We took advantage of a couple of mistakes, and guys were flying around the field. We didn’t really start well offensively, but we got it going and just kind of wore them down.”
Senior quarterback Gavin Nuckolls had three touchdowns passing and one rushing in three quarters of action, adding one scoring pass in the third quarter. He ended with 208 total yards, with 164 coming in Northwest’s dominant first half.
Coahulla Creek, a GHSA Class AA program that was 1-9 a season ago, held strong after Class AAA Northwest’s opening drive reached the 3-yard line, ending as River Choate’s strong rush off the end on fourth down forced Nuckolls into an errant throw.