CHATSWORTH, Ga. — As a career-long defensive football coach, Josh Robinson would love to tell you a few strategic adjustments at halftime helped his Northwest Whitfield team shut down one of the most potent offenses in the state Friday night.
Yet, while the 4-0 Bruins pitched a second-half shutout in rallying for a 35-14 win at North Murray, the veteran coach said the turnaround was just a matter of playing better. Either way, after allowing the Mountaineers just 74 yards after halftime, Robinson was all smiles.
"To be honest, we started making the plays that were there to be made," he said. "In the first half, in addition to several blown coverages, we dropped two interceptions and we had our hands on (North Murray quarterback) Seth Griffin for sacks two or three times and let him loose
"I tell them all the time — and I told them again at halftime tonight — you don't have to make the great play, just make THE play. We still held them to 14 points in the first half even though we didn't play well, so I'm proud of our guys for keeping their composure and not letting things get out of hand."
GHSA Class AA's North Murray (2-2) dominated early against the Class AAAA Bruins, going 52 yards on the game's opening drive and scoring on Skyler Williams' 3-yard run. The next Mountaineers drive, keyed by a Griffin-to-Judson Petty 43-yard pass, reached the 2 before a penalty (which negated a touchdown) and a sack led to a missed field-goal attempt.
In the second quarter, Griffin converted on third-and-23 with a 35-yard pass to Petty, who had slipped out of the backfield unnoticed, to the 5, where Griffin scored one play later on a keeper to make it 14-0.
Northwest and its own elite quarterback, senior Owen Brooker, finally got things going on the ensuing drive. Brooker was 4-for-4 on a seven-play, 68-yard drive, the key gain a 30-yard completion to Jase Talley to the 18. Two plays later, Brooker scored on a 7-yard run to cut the lead to seven with just more than a minute left in the half.
A 70-yard pass to Jadyn Rice, who was left uncovered, quickly moved North Murray inside the 10, but senior linebacker Jax Brooker intercepted a pass to end the threat and send the relieved Bruins to halftime down just seven.
"After that play, it seemed the guys just settled down," Robinson said. "Jax Brooker is an incredible player. He's our middle linebacker, and he makes plays all over the field. In fact, it's odd when he doesn't make a play."
Confidence renewed, the Bruins needed just three plays to tie the game, with Brooker hitting favorite target Hudson Gray for 58 yards before the two hooked up again for a 5-yard touchdown.
Seconds later, Gray made an even bigger play, this one on defense when he picked off a Griffin pass and returned it 40 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
The Bruins later forced a Griffin fumble and ended the next North Murray drive with a 26-yard sack by Caden Ramsey. That led to a game-clinching 80-yard drive on which Brooker was 3-for-3 on third down, the last one a scrambling 8-yard touchdown pass to Dominick Johnson two plays into the final quarter.
Brooker ended the night 17-of-26 passing for 209 yards while also leading the Bruins with 65 rushing yards, while Gray had six catches for 100 yards.
North Murray's Griffin had 270 yards on just 11 completions, with Petty catching four balls for 125 yards and Rice three for 103.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.