Charging Wildcats rally, beat Grizzlies

Senior tailback Brandon Thomas rushed 31 times for 201 yards and 5 touchdowns as North Little Rock overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to beat Fort Smith Northside 42-25 in 7A-Central action on a rainy Friday night at Charging Wildcat Stadium in North Little Rock.

North Little Rock (5-3, 4-1) trailed 25-7 at halftime and went three-and-out on its first series of the third quarter before a recovered fumble deep in Northside territory seconds later sparked the comeback.

The Charging Wildcats took the lead for good, 28-25, following Thomas’ 2-yard touchdown run with 7:24 remaining in the game. Thomas, who has orally committed to Memphis, added a 19-yard touchdown run on North Little Rock’s next series for a 35-25 lead with 4:16 remaining.

“I told our staff and I told our kids at half that I just had a feeling that we were not out of that thing,” North Little Rock Coach Jamie Mitchell said. “I don’t know what it was. The turnover, it just lit our fire.

“You can talk about turnovers. We gave them one on a pick six. We snapped the ball over the punter’s head. We had so much go wrong for us in the first half,” Mitchell said. “To be able to come back and play that kind of half – couldn’t be prouder. We were desperate. We were desperate.”

The Grizzlies (2-6, 0-5) began building their large halftime lead after senior defensive back Montay Parks returned an interception 81 yards for a touchdown with 3:27 remaining in the first quarter.

Northside stuck again on a 10-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Drey Norwood to senior tight end James Clayton with 9:18 remaining in the first half and a 19-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Matthew Hollenbeck to senior wide receiver Preston Baugh with 6:17 remaining in the first half. The latter possession began at the North Little Rock 17 after the Charging Wildcats botched a snap in punt formation.

Norwood made it 25-7 at halftime on a 9-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds remaining in the second

quarter.

The Grizzlies forced a punt to open the second half, but their first offensive play resulted in a lost fumble at their 5. Thomas scored on the next play. His first touchdown, a 1-yard

run with 11:25 remaining in the first half, gave North Little Rock a 7-6 lead. Thomas’ 11-yard touchdown run pulled North Little Rock within 25-21 with 2:31 remaining in the third quarter.