North Gwinnett used a fake punt and a pair of second-half turnovers to knock off Parkview 34-27 on Friday and avoid its first 0-3 start since 2002.
Trailing 27-20 early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs appeared to be lining up for a 24-yard field goal. But the ball was snapped to holder Kyle Van Campen, the backup quarterback, and he calmly found Brinston Williams for an 11-yard touchdown pass that tied the game.
“That was huge, right?” North Gwinnett coach Bill Stewart said. “Between a field goal and a touchdown, those are two different deals. That was great. Coach (Jeff) Carlberg talked about it all week so we were fired up. We definitely came in planning on running it and the opportunity just presented itself.”
Parkview then fumbled the ensuing kick and North’s Grant Godfrey recovered at the 35. The Bulldogs overcame a holding penalty and drove for the go-ahead touchdown, which came on a 2-yard keeper from quarterback Ethan Washington.
North appeared to have the game secured after Christian Smith intercepted a pass and advanced the ball to the 2. But Parkview denied the Bulldogs, who tried to kick a 24-yard field goal, but Daniel Smith’s kick sailed wide right.
That gave Parkview one last chance and the Panthers pushed the ball to the North 28 when quarterback Colin Houck fumbled and Godfrey was there for the recovery.
“Grant is a D-I,” Stewart said. “Your D-I players have to make plays and he did, so I was very excited for him.”
It ruined an otherwise stellar effort from Houck, who completed 17 of 32 passes for 302 yards and three touchdowns. Zion Taylor caught eight passes for 109 yards and one touchdown and Mike Matthews caught five balls for 98 yards and one touchdown.
North Gwinnett’s McFarlane carried 22 times for 114 yards and one touchdown to help the Bulldogs run for 243 yards. Washington completed 14 of 21 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 45 yards. Marek Briley grabbed five passes for 88 yards and one touchdown. Brinston Williams rushed for 79 yards and caught three passes, two for touchdowns.
Parkview had a 20-14 lead at halftime thanks to two touchdown passes from Houck and a pair of Carlos Munoz field goals.
The Panthers scored in six plays on their first possession, capping it on a 40-yard pass from Houck to Donovan Paris. But North Gwinnett matched it on a 14-play drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Washington to Williams.
Parkview took a 14-7 lead just before the end of the first quarter on Houck’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Zion Taylor and went up 17-7 on a 23-yard field goal from Munoz.
North responded with a drive that finished with Marek Briley’s 12-yard touchdown catch from Washington, but Parkview got the field points on Munoz’ 47-yard field goal.
North Gwinnett tied the game on a 4-yard run from Marcus McFarlane, only to have Parkview regain the lead 27-20 on a 20-yard pass from Houck to Mike Matthews.
“When we came out of the half with more energy,” Stewart said. “We talked about that, too. We didn’t go through that game without making mistakes, because we made a lot of them, but I’m proud of our guys coming back and making plays.”
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