Paul Bryant Upsets Northridge in Overtime

The Paul Bryant Stampede went into Jaguar Stadium and took down Northridge by a score of 27-21 in overtime. The Stampede held off a 21-point comeback to pull out a win very few people thought they would come out of as the victors.

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Northridge started off with the ball but went three and out on its first drive. This was the last time the Jaguars would get the ball in the first quarter. For the rest of the quarter,  Paul Bryant went on a 20-play, 89-yard drive that ended with a turnover on downs.

The Jaguars went 51 yards before suffering the same fate as the Stampede. Paul Bryant responded to this turnover on down with a long drive that resulted in points. Led by quarterback Edwin Merriweather, the Stampede went on a 10-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a QB sneak for six points.

The Jaguars responded with a long drive that got down to the three-yard line. Unfortunately for the Jaguars, the team fumbled on the two-yard line and gave it back to the Stampede. Paul Bryant started its drive on the one-yard line, but on the first play, Merriweather threw a 44-yard moonball to Joshua Hines. The Stampede capitalized and ended the drive with another six points after Merriweather dropped a dime to Hines.

With less than a minute left in the half, Northridge tried to get something going but this first half was a nightmare for the Jaguars. Less than 30 seconds until halftime, Braelyn Gray jumped a receiver route and ran it back for a pick-six to extend the Stampede lead.

Paul Bryant came into this game as the underdogs but were up 21-0 at halftime looking for the killing blow. Sadly for Bryant, this was not the case as Merriweather went out in the middle of the third quarter after suffering an injury.

With no quarterback for Paul Bryant, the offense completely shut down and Northridge smelled blood. Rowdy Christensen threw a three-yard out route to Nick Sherman to finally put the Jaguars on the board in the fourth.

Five minutes later, Northridge scored again, this time running back Tyson Whiteside took a screen 20 yards to make the game a seven-point game. The Stampede were completely shocked and did not know what to do.

Merriweather returned to the game to try to put the game away, but the Northridge defense came up clutch and gave the ball back to its offense. With three minutes left in the game and the game on the line, the Jaguars drove 73 yards in two minutes and thirty seconds. The drive was capped off by a Whiteside touchdown run of three yards.

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The Stampede could not do anything before the clock ran out, so the game went into overtime. In high school, the ball is placed at the ten-yard line and each team gets a possession. Bryant won the toss and wanted the ball in a risky move. The move paid off as Merriweather, two plays into overtime, threw a strike to Hines to retake the lead. Unfortunately for the Stampede, the kicker missed the extra point so Northridge only needed a touchdown and an extra point to win the game.

Northridge drove to the two-yard line riding the back of Whiteside. On fourth-and-short, Christensen was pressured, scrambled for his life, and found Whiteside in the end zone but it was broken up. The Stampede survived a 21-point fourth quarter by Northridge.

Bryant pulls off the upset and improves to 2-3 on the young season. Next week the team has the week off before going back on the road to take on the Hueytown Golden Gophers. As for Northridge, this is a tough pill to swallow as this makes the Jaguars 1-3 on the season. Next week Northridge travels to American Christian Academy to take on the Patriots.

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