Despite dominating every statistical category, Northmor lost a hard fought game to Centerburg 14-12 on Friday night.
The defeat ended the Golden Knights‘ winning streak at eight consecutive games, leaving Northmor with an 8-1 overall record heading into the final week of the regular season.
The Knights — now 5-1 in Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference action — will play host to Highland in the season finale. The Scots (6-3) dropped a 27-20 decision to East Knox on Friday.
Centerburg (6-2, 4-2 KMAC) opened the scoring late in the first quarter when quarterback Jack Gregory connected with Caylan LeMaster on a 5-yard touchdown pass. The score, which came at the 2:01 mark of the opening period, gave the Trojans a 7-0 lead and was LeMaster’s lone reception in the game.
The Trojans doubled their advantage to 14-0 less than three minutes later when Tyler Johnson scored on a 70-yard sprint at the 11:36 mark of the second quarter. Centerburg took possession of the ball at its own 11 yard line after a Northmor punt. Johnson carried the ball six yards on first down and Gregory gave his side some breathing room when he found Hunter Park for 13 yards to move the ball out to the 30 yard line and set the stage for Johnson’s long run.
Northmor cut the deficit to 14-6 thanks to a Marcus Cortez 3-yard touchdown run with 3:30 to play in the first half. The extra point attempt was no good.
The Golden Knights scored the only points of the second half with 5:30 to play in the third period. Cortez took the ball into the end zone from a yard out. A 2-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the Knights two points short in the end.
Northmor piled up 302 yards of total offense while holding Centerburg to just 171 total yards. The Knights also controlled the clock with 34:44 time of possession. However, the Knights committed two turnovers while the Trojans had no giveaways on the night.
Cortez led Northmor with 137 yards rushing on 22 carries and completed 7-of-14 passes for 49 yards. Max Lower had 22 carries for 118 yards and caught 2 passes for 20 yards. Griffin Workman had 2 catches for 21 yards to lead Northmor.
For Centerburg, Gregory finished 9-of-10 for 62 yards passing with the one touchdown. Johnson rushed for 84 yards on 10 carries. Parker made 4 receptions for 34 yards.
Centerburg ends the regular season with a road game against Knox County rival Fredericktown in Week 10.
