Sophomore quarterback Xavier Geter looks for an open target in the end zone against North Augusta before deciding to keep it himself for the touchdown on Friday.
After losing to Midland Valley by just one point last season, North Augusta football got its revenge on Friday with a 45-21 win over the Mustangs.
The contest started close between both teams until halftime, when the Jackets began to create some distance on the scoreboard. Despite the big win to stay undefeated in Region 4-AAAA, head coach Richard Bush said they need to work on discipline after several costly penalties.
"That's what we talk about; control what we can control," he said. "After tonight's game, we need to control our discipline. We can't have that. We cannot have that many penalties. If you want to win every week, if you want to win in a ballgame, you can't have that many penalties. That's unlike us to have those type of penalties. And that's on me as the head coach and they just, we let our emotions get the best of us tonight, especially early in the game. And we got to be better."
The Jackets struck first with a 40-yard touchdown from senior quarterback Corey Tillman. He was responsible for five of North Augusta's six touchdowns, but the first was his only rushing score.
With 14 seconds on the clock, running back Preston McNair found the end zone to put Midland Valley on the board. It looked like the opening quarter would end in a tie until North Augusta running back Michael Doe took the ball 87 yards to the Mustangs' end zone to regain the lead with two seconds left.
Most of the scoring on Friday happened in the second quarter, starting with a Midland Valley touchdown as quarterback Xavier Geter found tight end Cam Gleaton for three yards to tie the game again.
Mustang head coach Brent Dorn said this is just the beginning for the freshman tight end.
"He's a special talent," he said. "He's going to go big places. He works hard both in the weight room and on the field. He's going to be a rising star in this area. Everybody needs to keep an eye on him."
The Jackets regained the lead with a 33-yard pass from Tillman to running back JD Swinger.
On Midland Valley's next drive, a pass from Geter found its way into the arms of Jacket linebacker Alex Powell for an interception. Tillman found the end zone again, this time to Dawson Campbell to put North Augusta up by two touchdowns heading into halftime.
Aside from the interception, Powell made several big stops along with Deondre Baskett and Donte' Bell. North Augusta's defense has been an asset all year, and Friday night was no exception after a messy first half.
"Defense played well once they settled down and we quit hurting ourselves by what we were doing," Bush said. "They played lights out once they did that. And that's what we expect. Got to get out of our own way, got to get out of our own way. And when we did that we got the stops we needed. ... Alex made some great plays, he made a big interception there, Dre made a few sacks, which was big tackle for losses, which was what we expected, what we need. So that's two seniors that we expect to play well in these types of games. And we need them to play well. And we expect them to be good leaders on the field, too."
The second half was a defensive battle for both teams but that didn't stop Tillman from throwing two more touchdown passes, first to Isaiah Smith in the third quarter and then to Toian Nabriat early in the fourth.
Early on in the season, North Augusta found most of its offensive success on the ground with Doe leading the running back group. However, as the season has progressed, Tillman has continued to improve in the air, especially after wide receiver Connor Brown was injured early on in the year.
"He's improved each week," Bush said "He's gotten better each week and that's what we want. Offensive line gave him time to make some throws, which is big. But we're excited to play the way that Corey has played the last few weeks. He's gotten better each week and I've been hard on him. I've been really hard on him lately in the last couple of weeks. And he's accepted the coaching and he's improved. Our coaches have been hard on him and on all of them and they've continued to improve and that's what we're excited about."
Between the two Jacket touchdowns in the second half, the Mustangs got one back on a five-yard quarterback keeper from Geter at the end of the third quarter.
The rivalry between North Augusta and Midland Valley has been an intense one, but a moment in the opening drive of the game brought the two teams together in solidarity. On the opening kickoff, Midland Valley cornerback Satcher Redd went down on the field with an injury and was later taken to the hospital.
"Definitely, not the start I wanted," Dorn said "Obviously I got to go to the hospital and check on him. Luckily for us, we get a bye week before playoffs, so it's a chance for us to kind of recover and then get back refocused."
While the game was delayed, Bush and Dorn got their captains together to pray for Redd in centerfield while the rest of the players took a knee.
"At the end of the day, somebody's health and safety is much bigger than the game of football," Bush said. "I hope that young man's OK, hope he has a speedy recovery. But at the end of the day, that's what it was about, show everybody that it's about the kids, it's about everybody's health. And no matter the rivalry, at the end of the day, somebody's health is more important than the game of football."
Redd held a thumbs up as he was taken off the field to applause from the stadium.
The game marks the end of the regular season for Midland Valley, which finished with a 4-3 record in the region. North Augusta remains undefeated at 6-0, so its final game against 6-0 Gray Collegiate will be the region championship on Nov. 8 .
NA 14 17 7 7 - 45
MV 7 7 7 0 - 21
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
NA- Corey Tillman 40 run (Gavin Rodriguez extra point) 8:15
MV- Preston McNair 2 run (Peyton Waters extra point) 0:14
NA- Michael Doe 87 run (Rodriguez extra point) 0:02
Second Quarter
MV- Xavier Geter 3 pass to Cam Gleaton (Waters extra point) 5:51
NA- Tillman 33 pass to JD Swinger (Rodriguez extra point) 3:46
NA- Tillman 30 pass to Dawson Campbell (Rodriguez extra point) 1:24
NA- Rodriguez field goal 0:00
Third Quarter
NA- Tillman 40 pass to Isaiah Smith (Rodriguez extra point) 6:51
MV- Geter 5 run (Waters extra point) 1:26
Fourth Quarter
NA- Tillman 10 pass to Toian Nabriat (Rodriguez extra point) 11:32