Region Champs: Northview annihilates Chipley 42-6, claim first region title since 2012

With the final minutes ticking off the clock, Northview senior athlete Luke Bridges gestured to the raucous home crowd by pointing at his ring finger.

Fellow senior Kaden Odom couldn't control himself, shouting "tell them to bring me my trophy" in the middle of a postgame huddle.

Those scenes were a complete 180 from just one week earlier when Chiefs players and coaches motored off the field following a sluggish and sloppy performance in a win over Holmes County.

Aside from the team being fueled by Thanksgiving leftovers, it's unclear what changed in a week's time, but the Chiefs from then and the squad that was in action Friday were as different as night and day. And because of that, they accomplished something the program hadn't achieved in a decade.

Northview claimed its first region title since its 2012 state title run after demolishing Chipley 42-6 in the Region 1-1R Final on Friday night from Tommy Weaver Memorial Football Stadium.

The hosts enjoyed a 27-0 advantage at halftime before opening the second half by completing a 99-yard drive and force a running clock.

"I'd like to do it all over again to tell you the truth," Chiefs head coach Wes Summerford said excitedly. " I couldn't be more proud of the guys. There was a moment where I was just emotional because going from last week, the guys knew I wasn't happy with them. Our backs were against the wall, and I don't know if it was just our leaders, but I think our whole team stepped up. It just shows our character."

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Northview was the top seed in the region while the Tigers were the second seed. Each team entered Friday with 11-0 records, but by night's end, it was clear who was the class of the two.

It's ninth time in 12 games the Chiefs have put up at least 40 points. As for Chipley, it was not only the most points the team has relinquished in a single game in 2022, it was the first time the team has been held to single digits this season.

Northview scored on its first six possessions. The only time the team didn't reach the end zone was when it had the ball when time expired at game's end. Meanwhile, the Tigers committed two turnovers, had a turnover on downs and didn't score until midway through the fourth quarter.

"It feels great. It's been 10 years since Northview has been here," said Northview senior running back Jamarkus Jefferson, who leads the area with 44 total touchdowns. "We're making history and we love it."

Jefferson was the driving force behind the home team's offensive onslaught, recording five rushing scores. The Chiefs' other touchdown came late in the first half on an 18-yard pass from Odom to junior wide receiver Wyatt Scruggs.

Now at 12-0, the Chiefs are host to Union County next Friday in a state semifinal.

The Fightin' Tigers won the Region 3-1R crown by beating Lafayette 41-6.

Here are three takeaways from Friday's game in Century.

Back on track

Even though he reached the end zone during Northview's regional semifinal victory, Jefferson was possibly the most frustrated about his play.

The senior running back hurt his right ankle on the team's third offensive play against Holmes County and wasn't the same the rest of that night. He finished with 17 carries for 70 yards, his lowest yardage total of the season.

With the following Monday being a rest day, Northview rolled into practice on Tuesday. From there, Jefferson was eager to erase any memory from that lackluster evening.

"On Tuesday, I promise you Jamarkus Jefferson was the first guy in the building. And I knew he was ready," Summerford said. "I knew he was ready when he was the first guy at practice on an early practice Tuesday. He's just the leader of our team, what can you say?"

The senior scored twice in the first quarter, once in the second and two more times in the third. He had touchdown runs of 3, 9, 1, 1 and 7 yards. Unofficially, Jefferson finished with 27 carries for 144 yards.

"I had a lot of anger built up from last week. I didn't get to run (the ball) for real," he said. "We knew it was going to be a hard-running game. We knew it was going to be a good game. We just came out, took care of business and we got out of here."

As much as the senior imposed his will offensively, his first impact play came on the defensive end. Jefferson picked off senior quarterback Neal Adams to end the Tigers' first drive.

"It brought life to the team. We got a good crowd and when that happened, everybody just went crazy," Jefferson said. "We feed off energy. We had that good energy and it just went up from there."

Early momentum was special

The Chiefs went up 20-0 before 14 minutes eclipsed from the clock. Their special teams unit was the catalyst behind the early surge.

After taking a 6-0 lead, Northview immediately got the ball back when junior linebacker Joe Wright recovered a surprise onside kick.

"It was huge. When you're in a game like this, you try to get every ounce of momentum that you can," Summerford said. "I've had the same thing done to me. And I thought early on, that was the right time to grab momentum. ... It was something we saw on film, (Chipley) just happened to line up the right way and our guys executed it."

The kick was performed by Aron Chavira, a senior lineman who never kicked a ball this season prior to Friday. His number was called after practicing it for only two days earlier in the week.

"We talked about it Wednesday," Chavira said. "We ran it one time and it wasn't the best. We ran it again Thursday during walk-throughs and it was getting better.

"It felt really good (to execute). Coach called me to do it and I got it done."

Chipley punted on its next possession, which Odom returned into enemy territory. Coupled with Jefferson's interception, the Chiefs' average starting position during their opening three drives was the Tigers 45-yard line.

'I'm pretty mesmerized right now'

Down 20-0, the visitors threatened to make it a game midway through the second quarter after traveling down to the Northview 10. However, a false-start penalty, a pair of incompletions and a short gain led to a fourth-and-goal from the 12.

That's when Cason Burkett effectively put the game on ice by sacking Adams, forcing a turnover on downs. He got to the Chipley quarterback once again on the final play of the first half.

Earlier in the season, the senior linebacker was out for two weeks following a bout with appendicitis. He's since recovered and looked as strong as ever.

"Being set back a couple of weeks and not being at 100 percent, I worked hard all week just for this game," Burkett said. "Coach Gandy (Defensive coordinator Jace Gandy) giving us a good game plan just really set it off for me."

Burkett's first year with Northview has been a far cry from where he was a season ago.

In 2021, he was the starting quarterback for a Jay team that went 1-9. Trading his royal blue colors for garnet and gold over the offseason, Burkett has gone from nearly winless to undefeated.

"I'm just really lost for words being at this great (program) and everything," he said. "They made me feel so welcomed when I first got here. I love it.

"I'm pretty mesmerized right now. Being at Jay last year and my sophomore year, I didn't really get this feeling. It's awesome, it's awesome."

Senior athlete Maliki Haynes added to the defense's near-shutout performance with an interception in the third.

Chipley was limited to seven total first downs, two of which came via penalty. The Chiefs moved the chains 19 times.

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com. 

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Region 1-1R: Northview marches to Final Four after blasting Chipley