Between trick plays, 50-yard bombs, physical play, takeaways, and fans booing both the referees and the play-by-play announcer, this year’s Northmor vs East Knox rivalry game had it all, and the Friday night thriller ended with a Northmor victory, 36-23.
The Northmor Golden Knights fell behind early but were able to come storming back behind a relentless connection from quarterback A.J. Bower to wide receiver Hunter Fulk.
Starting the game with possession, Northmor came out aggressively. However, it was East Knox that initially took control. On the opening drive, Knights QB Bower barely overthrew his receiver on a 50-yard throw into the end zone, Northmor was forced to punt. On East Knox’s first possession, it took Northmor by surprise with a deep throw from Cole Delaughder to Bracen Davis for 68 yards and a touchdown. A two-point conversion from Carson Steinmetz to Jax lester made it 8-0, East Knox.
Northmor was quickly stopped on their second drive as well and were forced to punt again. A long run on the second play of East Knox’s second drive set up a first and goal inside the five. A costly illegal shift penalty kept them out of the end zone, but a 26-yard field goal by Will Jensen gave East Knox an 11-0 lead.
After a short kick, the Knights started their third drive with good field position at their own 41. On third down, Bower connected with Hunter Fulk for a 36-yard pass that took Northmor to the East Knox 18. On the next play, Bower fit it into a tight window to find CJ Stoney for a
touchdown. A two-point conversion by Caleb Schnuerer cut the lead down to 11-8 in the final minute of the first quarter.
On the next drive, the game started to get testier with more flags being called on both sides, and the Northmor fans began booing the home play-by-play announcer for twice arguing for a facemask call on Northmor. After the Golden Knights forced the Bulldogs to punt, tension
reached a high on Northmor’s ensuing drive. Bauer threw a deep ball up for grabs inside the East Knox 15-yard line. Both the receiver and the cornerback grabbed the ball in the air, and neither was able to gain sole possession of the ball as they went to the ground. Controversially for the vocal fans, the play was called an interception, putting the Northmor faithful into a frenzy.
East Knox looked to capitalize on the opportunity, running for first downs until it got past midfield. However, the drive was interrupted by a deflected interception that landed in the hands of Cowin Baker. Quickly, Bower connected on two deep passes, the second of which was
a 34-yard pass to a diving Fulk for a touchdown. Northmor would take a 15-11 lead into halftime.
After stopping East Knox on the first drive of the second half, Northmor dialed up the passing attack, taking the ball deep into East Knox territory. On fourth-and-five at the East Knox 17, the Golden Knights decided to go for it. The decision paid off, as Bower found Fulk in the
back corner of the end zone for another touchdown, taking a 22-11 lead.
As East Knox drove into Northmor territory, the Golden Knights again came up with a huge play when it was needed most. Stoney deflected the ball, catching and intercepting it on a great second effort. Northmor again capitalized on the opportunity, capping off the next
drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Toby Prior. While the Golden Knights controlled the game the rest of the way, it was capped off in spectacular fashion with a bomb from Bower to Fulk that resulted in a 65-yard touchdown, and allowed Northmor to take a 36-17 lead.
Bower finished the game with five touchdown passes, while Fulk finished with three touchdown receptions for the Golden Knights.
East Knox outgained Northmor 414 to 373 in total offense. Bower was 20-for-39 for 331 yards and five TDs for Northmor, and Lester was 19-for-32 for 182 yards and a score for the Bulldogs. Bower found Fulk eight times for 177 yards and three TDs, and Lester’s favorite target was Steinmetz, with nine receptions for 102 yards for the ‘Dogs. On the ground, Delaughder carried 23 times for 149 yards for EK.
“It was a typical rivalry game, two young, physical football teams," Northmor coach Scott Ambrose said. "At the end of the day, we were able to make big plays more consistently on both sides of the ball. A.J. (Bower) in particular had a great game tonight.”
The Golden Knights (5-2) will look to continue their good form at home on Friday against Mount Gilead. East Knox (2-5) travels to Fredericktown.
