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Brooker hits Morrison for late Northwest game-winning TD

daniel mayes, the daily citizen, dalton, ga.
·4 min read

Oct. 16—TUNNEL HILL — For the first 23 1/2 minutes of action in the second half of Northwest Whitfield High School's Region 7-4A tilt with Ringgold'sHeritage Friday, there were no points scored.

In the last 30 seconds, the teams exchanged go-ahead touchdown passes. Fortunately for the Bruins, the pair that made the last play was dressed in Northwest's orange and blue.

Quarterback Owen Brooker hit Ray Morrison on an out route, and Morrison did the rest. He broke a tackle, made a move and jetted down the sideline for a 60-yard score with 5.3 seconds left to help put the Bruins back on top for good, 22-15.

With the Bruins starting from their own 25 with 27 seconds left and needing a miracle, it was all Brooker-to-Morrison. The quarterback hit Morrison on two out routes to gain yardage, then, the game-winner.

"It was going to be an out-and-go, but they didn't bite on it," Morrison said. "I caught it, and I was just running for my life. I was just going to score. It's just the best feeling ever."

The Northwest win could have postseason impacts as the two teams battle for playoff positioning in Region 7-4A. Both now sit at 2-1 in the region, and the Bruins hold the tiebreaker if the teams finish with the same region record. The Generals have region games left with Pickens and Cedartown, while Northwest has Pickens and Ridgeland left.

The late-game heroics from Brooker and Morrison became necessary after some clutch play from Heritage just a few seconds of game time earlier.

Northwest (4-3, 2-1 Region 7-4A) had led 14-9 since just before halftime. With a little over six minutes to go, Heritage (4-2, 2-1 Region 7-4A) quarterback Kaden Swope appeared to be headed for what would have been an earlier go-ahead score, but Northwest's Domonique Smith knocked the ball out of Swope's hands as he fought for the end zone, and Braxton Floyd recovered the fumble for a touchback.

By the time the Generals got the ball back, there was 1:20 to go. Heritage needed 67 yards with no timeouts.

Thanks to a couple of key defensive pass interference calls on Northwest, the Generals moved down the field, and Swope found JC Armour for a 15-yard touchdown with just 27 seconds to go. Heritage held their first lead of the game at 15-14, but that lasted only 20 seconds.

"I'm just really proud of our guys," Northwest head coach Josh Robinson said. "There's just no give-up in them."

The scoreboard remained stuck on 14-9 for so long before the late-game fireworks thanks to defensive plays made on both sides of the ball.

Northwest took the opening drive of the game 14 plays before finishing off the scoring drive with a one-yard Brooker plunge.

Brooker used his legs a lot Friday when he wasn't making game-winning throws with his arm. He rushed for 67 yards and the score to go along with his 215 passing yards on 11-for-16.

Heritage responded with a long drive of their own, reaching the Northwest one-yard-line as the first quarter ended. Northwest stuffed Swope on third and fourth down to keep the Generals off the board, but it would only stay that way for another couple of plays.

With the Bruins backed up, Heritage swarmed the backfield to bring Cameron Collins down for a safety.

Brooker hit Hudson Gray for a 43-yard pass on the Bruins' ensuing possession to get Northwest to the Heritage 16, and Collins reached the end zone on a two-yard plunge a few plays later to put the Bruins up 14-2.

Swope found Tyler Cheatwood for a 32-yard pass late in the second half for the Generals' first touchdown.

Swope finished the night 11-of-19 for 191 yards and the two touchdown passes. He had only 37 yards passing up until the touchdown pass late in the first half as the Generals played a more run-heavy attack. Swope rushed for 65 on 20 carries, while Paxton McCrary had 63 yards on 15 carries.

Heritage was shut down on fourth-and-six from the 29 early in the fourth, then a Bruin fumble gave them the ball back as Lane Hall pounced on the loose ball. With Heritage starting on Northwest's 26, the Bruin defense got another stop and forced a punt.

Heritage's next shot at a score resulted in the Swope fumble.

Northwest travels to cross-county rival Southeast Whitfield Friday night for a game at 7:30. Heritage steps out of Region 7-4A action to play at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe.