Varsity football drops to 0-3 with Cartersville loss
NC’s varsity football team faced off against the Cartersville High School Hurricanes last Friday night.
Varsity football allowed a whopping 20 points in the fourth quarter as they fell to the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes, 34-31.
NC once again held a fourth quarter lead against a state-ranked opponent, only to squander it for the third consecutive week and push the Warriors to 0-3, their worst start since 2006.
Despite holding the lead going into the fourth quarter, the Warriors lost to Cartersville 34-31.
With six minutes remaining, NC held a 17-14 lead, and just forced a Cartersville turnover at midfield. But the succeeding snap went over quarterback junior Will Lovett’s head, giving the ball back to the Purple Hurricanes on the NC 21-yard line and allowing running back Tiamon Pennymon to score just two plays later.
On the ensuing drive, Pennymon made his presence felt yet again as he returned a Lovett interception 36 yards to the end zone to extend Cartersville’s lead to 27-17 and seemingly put the final nail in the coffin. However, on the next play from scrimmage, junior receiver Alon Johnson got behind the defense and hauled in a 70-yard bomb to bring the Warriors back within three. But Cartersville sustained a nine-play, 65 yard drive on ensuing possession to raise the lead back to ten. The Warriors scored with 10 seconds remaining, but failed to recover the onside kick.
Quarterback Will Lovett (#7) handing off the ball to running back CJ Cole (#21) in the first quarter.
Junior running back Jai Erwin shined against his former team, scoring two touchdowns, both in the first half. Lovett finished the game 24 of 34 for 273 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Lovett currently leads the county in passing yards.
“We know we have a good team,” Lovett said. “We just need to put it together and finish games.”
NC’s non-region schedule ranks among the toughest, as three top 10 squads defeated the Warriors by a total of seven points. The last time NC found themselves at 0-3, they went on to win six of the last seven and tie for a region championship.
“A lot of teams would’ve quit by now,” Coach Queen said following the game. “But this group isn’t like that. We have fighters.”
NC’s next opponent, Monroe Area, proves inferior to the first three as they are unranked. NC won last year’s meeting, 42-14.
Andrew Lubbers, a senior at North Cobb and The Chant’s sports editor, is Ohio born and Georgia raised. He plays on the varsity football team and his...
Nadya Awino is a third-year photographer and reporter for The Chant. Although she started as an inexperienced sophomore with a dream, she has worked her...
