LINDEN — The North Montgomery defense saw the ball pop out and then land short of the goal line back in the hands of Jonathan Mack.
That meant a failed two-point conversion topping off a thrilling 48-47 Charger victory in Indiana Sectional 34 semi final football Friday evening at Charger Stadium.
The Lewis Cass senior running back a few seconds earlier tallied his third touchdown of the game. Then his number was called to try and win it. The North defense was up to that task.
“I thought our defense did a great job,” North coach Josh Thompson said. “My big thing was I told them to keep their heads up, see the ball and make a good tackle. I think that was our biggest problem all night. We just didn’t finish our tackles. They run hard, are good on blocking assignments and we have to make sure we’re wrapping and tackling. We made some adjustments at halftime. It’s hard to simulate their offense in practice.”
The fourth quarter had the crowd on both sides vocal on a chilly November evening. North held a 48-33 advantage after three periods. Thompson’s squad found the end zone its first two possessions of the third quarter, both on junior quarterback Jack Warren dimes to senior receiver Kelby Harwood.
“We’re going to take what they give us. I thought our pass protection was pretty good all night, we were able to get the ball in the air and I thought our receivers made some good plays.”
The hosts first try in the fourth following a LC score ended in a fumble, but Lewis Cass fumbled it right back two plays later with 7:11 left to play. North, starting at its own 29 and up 48-41, tried to methodically move the ball and run the clock. The Chargers finally turned it over on downs following a Warren sack at the LC 44 with 2:54 to play.
The Kings used mostly Mack to grind the ball to the 3-yard line in 11 plays with 6 seconds on the clock. Mack sliced across with :00.8 left to draw to 48-47. The failed conversion and North falling on an onside kick ended the game in the first ever meeting between the schools.
The contest momentum swayed back and forth. North (5-6) threw almost the entire playbook at the visiting Kings (5-6). Constant onside kicks, long passes, short passes, running plays and – oh, yes - even a fake punt, which resulted in a touchdown. Lewis Cass countered offensively, mostly on the ground racking up 369 rushing yards. The Chargers did most of their damage through the air with 338 yards passing.
“We were able to run a roll pass with a little stop route on the outside early on. Our quarterback understood we have to move the ball and our receivers knew they had to be past the sticks to catch the ball.”
Warren accounted for 333 of the team’s season high 450 total yards. He hit 19 of 33 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns, all to Harwood. Warren also carried 19 times for 52 yards and two more scores.
Harwood caught 10 for 172 yards. He also hooked up with sophomore Lucky Young on a fake punt 57-yard pass midway through the second quarter. That put North up by three scores at that point.
The Kings would get Mack’s first two scores before halftime, but North led at the break 32-27.
Senior standout Trevor Rowe rushed for 112 yards for the Kings.
North’s season continues with its first trip to a sectional title game since 2015 and the first at home since 2008. Top-ranked Lafayette Central Catholic visits Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
“When our guys execute we can do some things. We just have to be more consistent with our execution. I’m thrilled to death for these kids. For our seniors it’s one more home game. We get to practice one more week. We’re excited.”
