A tradeoff of long touchdown passes favored the home team.
The No. 3 North Little Rock Charging Wildcats grabbed momentum and kept it through the finish of its 28-21 victory over the No. 10 Fort Smith Northside Grizzlies at Charging Wildcat Stadium on Friday night after junior quarterback Malachi Gober's 61-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Johnny Lewis early in the third quarter.
The pass from Gober to Lewis split two Northside defenders three plays after Northside junior quarterback Walker Catsavis threw a 61-yard touchdown pass to sophomore T'kavion King that tied the game at 14-14 on the first offensive series of the second half.
Northside Coach Mike Falleur said North Little Rock's quick response typified his team's performance.
"We had two guys there, and he catches it, and we don't," Falleur said. "I always tell them that in games like this, it's going to come down to two or three plays. They made them, and we didn't."
In the third quarter, North Little Rock's lead was 28-14 after junior running back Torrance Moore's 3-yard touchdown run with 6:24 left.
Northside answered early in the fourth quarter when Catsavis' 2-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Julian Martinez completed the scoring to put Northside within a touchdown.
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HS Football: NLR vs FS Northside
North Little Rock beats Fort Smith Northside 28-21 on Friday, Oct. 22, 2021, at North Little Rock High School.
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"We could have just laid down and not played, but our kids got after it the second half," Falleur said.
Moore carried 22 times for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns to help lead the win for North Little Rock (7-1, 4-1 7A-Central). North Little Rock sophomore running back Javonte Harris rushed 14 times for 56 yards.
"We do have two quality backs," North Little Rock Coach Randy Sandefur said. "They're young. We're going to have them back, but just hats off to our offensive line, man."
Northside (5-3, 2-3) opened the scoring after it recovered a North Little Rock fumble. The Grizzlies used 11 plays on a 71-yard drive completed by junior running back Ty Massey's 1-yard run with 2:43 left in the first quarter.
Massey led Northside with 11 carries for 80 yards.
North Little Rock responded on its next drive with a 42-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Malachi Gober to senior receiver Johnny Lewis to tie the score at 7-7 with 9:14 left in the second quarter.
A 26-yard pass from Gober to Lewis late the second quarter put North Little Rock at the Northside 26. Three plays later, junior running back Torrence Moore's 5-yard touchdown run with 4.5 seconds left gave North Little Rock a 14-7 halftime lead.
"This game probably gets us a home [playoff] game," Sandefur said. "And if we keep winning, who knows? And these guys are capable. They believe."
