North Cobb coach Shane Queen called it the best game of senior Nick Grimstead’s career.
The third-year starting quarterback passed for 323 yards and three touchdowns, rushed for 65 yards and two touchdowns and scored the game-clinching touchdown on a 7-yard run with 3:26 remaining in a 45-33 victory over visiting McEachern on Friday at Emory-Sewell Stadium.
“He took our team on his shoulders and carried us tonight,” Queen said. “I don’t know how many yards he had, but we can run the football, and when they stack the box like that, we’ve got to be able to take shots. They had eight in the box, and we made them pay with big plays down the field. … To me, he’s a Division I quarterback. Somebody needs to come get that kid.”
In a game that featured more than 1,100 yards of total offense, North Cobb had the better of it early, leading 31-10 at halftime and 39-13 after Grimstead’s 5-yard touchdown run with 6:12 remaining in the third quarter.
McEachern (0-2) refused to go away, scoring on its next three possessions in just over four minutes of playing time. Jayreon Campbell capped a six-play, 67-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run to make it 39-20. That was followed by two one-play drives, a 48-yard touchdown pass from Zah’lyn Bell to Nalin Scott and a 79-yard run by Bell that cut the lead to 39-33 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
North Cobb (2-0) answered with a nine-play, 94-yard touchdown drive that took more than eight minutes off the clock. The key plays were a fake punt on fourth-and-two from its own 25-yard line that Zach Belyeu converted with a 4-yard run and a 54-yard pass three plays later from Grimstead to Sebastian Easley that moved the ball to the McEachern 12. Grimstead scored three plays later on third-and-five from the 7-yard line to put the game away.
Bell’s pass on the first play of McEachern’s next drive was intercepted by Dy’lon Womack, and the Warriors were able to run out the clock.
The victory ended North Cobb’s six-game losing streak in the series, which McEachern leads 26-25-2.
“We told our kids at halftime that we can’t beat ourselves,” Queen said. “We can’t have silly mistakes and costly penalties. We had too many personal fouls in the second half. I know the game got heated, but this is a competitive game every year we play those guys. That’s a playoff-quality team, and they’re probably going to win their region. I’m proud of the effort of our kids, but we’ve got to do a better job of not getting penalties like we did in the second half.”
North Cobb finished with 576 yards of offense. Belyeu had 120 yards rushing on 16 carries, and Quavy Echols had 67 yards on 13 carries. Steele Ingram had 189 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions, all in the first half.
Bell passed for 217 yards and rushed for 142 as part of McEachern’s 551-yard night. He completed 13 of 25 attempts, all but three of which came in the first half. Campbell ran for 169 yards on 18 carries, and Scott had five receptions for 140 yards.
McEachern failed to take advantage of several scoring opportunities in the first half to fall into a hole it couldn’t climb out of. The Indians got a 2-yard touchdown run by Demarcus Cleaves late in the second quarter, but they were in North Cobb territory three other times in the half and came away with just three points, a 26-yard field goal by Jonathan Rodriguez after they had first-and-goal at the North Cobb 2. They also had a punt and a 21-yard field-goal attempt blocked.
McEachern - 0-10-16-7 - 33
North Cobb - 10-21-8-6 - 45
First quarter
N - Michael Hill 34 field goal, 7:50
N - Steele Ingram 46 pass from Nick Grimstead (Hill kick), 3:30
Second quarter
N - Zach Belyeu 2 run (Hill kick), 10:01
M - Jonathan Rodriguez 26 field goal, 7:08
M - Demarcus Cleaves 2 run (Rodriguez kick), 2:02
N - Igram 80 pass from Grimstead (Hill kick), 1:46
N - Malcolm Smith 8 pass from Grimstead (Hill kick), 0:27
Third quarter
M - Rodriguez 41 field goal, 9:34
N - Grimstead 5 run (Quavy Echols run), 6:12
M - Jayreon Campbell 7 run (Rodriguez kick), 3:55
M - Nalin Scott 48 pass from Zah’lyn Bell (run failed), 2:28
Fourth quarter
M - Bell 79 run (Rodriguez kick), 11:47
N - Grimstead 7 run (run failed), 3:26
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