FORT SMITH -- Fort Smith Northside grounded the Little Rock Central offense in the second half, then the Grizzlies pounded the Tigers defense into submission.
Northside rushed for 276 yards, 168 in the second half, in a 35-20 7A-Central victory Friday at Mayo-Thompson Stadium.
"That is our identity. We are going to run the football," Northside Coach Mike Falleur said. "We're going to throw the ball also. We did a great job of running the football in the second half."
The Grizzlies (2-3, 1-1 7A-Central) led 14-7 at halftime and built a 35-7 lead with six minutes left in the game before the Tigers (1-4, 0-2) got a pair of touchdowns in the final 1:46.
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"Tonight we did a lot of things well," Falleur said. "At times, we are kind of our own worst enemies. We are a young team, and we make mistakes, and a lot of those mistakes have happened at the worst time."
Trailing 21-7 midway through the third quarter, Central appeared to get back in the game, facing a third and goal at the Northside 8. Tumontay Parks, a Grizzlies defensive back, intercepted a Jacob Howard pass at the goal line to snuff out the drive.
"Parks is a sophomore and made a great play at the goal line," Falleur said. "We're getting better on defense. We lost nine starters from last season. This is a growing process. We keep telling them to keep pushing."
The Northside offense then marched 95 yards in 17 plays, all but one rushing. Quarterback Derrick Wise capped off the drive with a 1-yard keeper for a 28-7 lead with 11:18 left in the game. Another Wise 1-yard keeper with 6:04 left gave the Grizzlies a 35-7 lead.
Wise led the Grizzlies rushing attack with 90 yards on 14 carries and 2 scores while also throwing a touchdown pass. Running backs Eli Bolton (89 yards, 16 carries, 1 touchdown) and Jackson King (85 yards, 15 carries, 1 touchdown) also had major contributions for Northside.
Howard threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Tiger offensive attack.
Northside will travel to War Memorial Stadium next week to face Little Rock Catholic. Central hosts 7A-Central co-leader Bryant.
Sports on 09/30/2017