North Central Beats Pike

In sports, especially football, you can’t give up; quitting is not an option.

        North Central finally got it.
        North Central overcame a 14-7 deficit by scoring 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to defeat host Pike 21-14 Friday night in Indiana high school football. It was the first time that North Central has defeated Pike in football in five years.
         The no-quit attitude was displayed on special teams. After North Central tied the score at 14 on quarterback Gavin Alexander’s 48-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Krayshawn Brewer, North Central kicked off to Pike with 5:17 left in the game.  The Red Devils didn’t field the kick cleanly, the ball was fumbled, and a Panther hustled down the field and recovered it with 5:05 left.
         After a rough first half, Alexander continued his hot passing. Four plays after the recovered fumble, Alexander threw a 14-yard TD pass to Jordan Williams, making the score 21-14. In the final quarter, Alexander completed 5-of-6 passes with TD throws to Brewer and Williams. He also threw the first of his three TD passes to Brewer, a 38-yard strike that gave the Panthers a 7-0 first-quarter lead.
         Alexander finished the game 8-of-17 passing for 135 yards.
         But it was the defense that may have won the game. North Central gave up a lot of field position, many times punting the ball away near its own goal line.  Despite having to defend a short field, the Panthers defense came up with several stops and big plays. Defensive backs Kory Rogan and Melvin Graham came up with interceptions. Defensive lineman Trey Williamson had a sack and Panther teammates Darius Latham and Deon Posey applied consistent pressure on Pike quarterback Aloyis Gray.
        North Central kicker Ben Stoller ended the Panthers’ scoring by going 3-of-3 on points after touchdowns.
         Again, not giving up may have led to the victory.