A stubborn Minden Crimson Tide squad saw its second half comeback fall short Friday and the Northwood Falcons held on with a fourth quarter score to take a 21-12 win in District 1-4A action at Jerry Burton Stadium in north Shreveport.
Trailing 14-0 at the half, Minden cut into the Falcons’ lead by taking the third quarter kickoff 56 yards in nine plays to make it 14-6 after a failed PAT attempt with 7:53 remaining.
On the strength of runs by Daylen Robinson, Jakobe Jackson, Cameron Mitchell and Jaylin Williams, the Tide marched downfield but faced a fourth down at the Falcon 32-yard line. Jackson lofted a pass into the endzone where Williams outjumped a pair of defenders to haul in the scoring toss and get the Tide on the board.
Minden’s defense held on the next series and got the ball at its 31-yard line following the Falcon punt. Ten plays and 65 yards later, Robinson bulled into the endzone from four yards out with only seconds remaining in the third quarter and the Tide moved to within 14-12 when a two-point conversion attempt failed.
Robinson had set the Tide up for the score with a 34-yard run, breaking tackles along the way as he worked to the Northwood four.
Northwood began a 63-yard drive of its own, and 10 running plays later put the finishing touch on the win when Quintavion White shoved his way into paydirt from one yard out. White carried eight times on the drive and finished as the game’s leading rusher with 142 yards on 24 carries. He scored a pair of touchdowns.
A pair of failed scoring opportunities in the first half for the Crimson Tide could have changed the outcome of the hard-fought game. A promising drive late in the first quarter ended at the Falcon eight-yard line when a Jackson pass fell incomplete in the endzone on fourth down.
Northwood took over and promptly marched 92 yards, capped by quarterback Mason Welch’s two-yard TD run. That score, added to a White 17-yard touchdown burst to cap a Falcon 66-yard drive with the opening kickoff, put the hosts ahead 14-0 with 8:38 remaining in the half.
Minden’s second missed chance came following that second touchdown. A pair of runs by Robinson and Mitchell, plus a 15-yard facemask penalty put the Tide at Northwood’s 15. But the Falcon defense recovered a Tide fumble and ended that threat.
Northwood moved downfield following the fumble and appeared to be headed to a larger lead, but Minden’s defense rose to the occasion. Brian Turner intercepted a Welch pass in the endzone and got Minden into halftime trailing by just two scores.
With just over a minute remaining in the game and the Tide backed up at its own three-yard line and trailing by nine points, Northwood’s Camron McCullough intercepted a desperate Jackson pass and returned it to the Minden two. In a display of sportsmanship, the Falcon coaching staff signaled Welch to kneel and let the clock expire rather than add points.
Minden’s Robinson added another triple-digit rushing night, picking up 108 yards on 17 carries and scored one touchdown. Mitchell had 88 yards on six rushes. Jackson completed six-of-13 pass attempts for 52 yards and one score, and had one interception. Williams caught two passes for 36 yards and a score while Mitchell had three catches worth 12 yards. Robinson caught one pass for four yards.
While Northwood was totaling 200 yards on the ground, led by White, Welch was throwing for 181 yards on a 12-for-26 night with one interception. Welch also picked up 42 rushing yards on eight attempts. Minden’s defense held Welch to zero passing yards in the second half.
Minden now stands at 2-5 for the season; 1-3 in District 1-4A play with a Friday home district game against Evangel Christian Academy next on the schedule. Northwood (5-2, 3-1) will visit BT Washington in a league contest.
