Rushing attack wears down the Spartans
North Point gets rushing TDs from Jones, Poole in shutout win
Behind a strong offensive line, the North Point backfield saw gaping holes all game long in Friday’s Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Potomac Division football contest.
In turn, the Eagles hit a season-high in 316 yards on 60 carries in the 31-0
victory over the visiting St. Charles Spartans.
North Point (4-1, 1-0 SMAC Potomac), which won its second straight game, picked up its first shutout of the season.
The Eagles boasted two 100-plus yard rushers in the contest. Junior Omar Poole led all rushers with a 170 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown, while junior quarterback Jemichael Jones carried the ball 14 times for 101 yards and three touchdowns for North Point.
“Last week I wasn’t really using my feet, but this week I focused on doing that,” Jones said. “This was another big win for us. We know each week is important if we want to make the playoffs.”
The game was delayed for 30 minutes with 48 seconds left in the third quarter due to lightning.
The Eagles defense also forced four St. Charles turnovers with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
“We were really focused in practice this week,” North Point senior defensive end Don Jones said. “Sometimes we lose focus, but we were on our game and followed all of our assignments. We’ve come a long way, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
North Point scored all of its points in the second and third quarters.
St. Charles (1-4, 0-2), which has allowed 30 points or more in each game of its current threegame losing streak, drove 61 yards on its opening possession, but on a fourth down and goal at the 2-yard line, junior Christian Wood missed a 19-yard field goal with 6:52 left in the first quarter.
“We knew St. Charles would come in ready. [Head coach] Avery [Williams] does a great job and they are tough physical kids and play hard for the whole game,” North Point head coach Tom Petre said. “We wanted p.m. Friday in another division contest that also will have Class 4A East playoff implications. The Braves defeated Huntingtown on Monday night, 27-3.
“Anytime you go into the next week with a win you feel good about it,” Petre said.
After a scoreless first quarter, North Point scored on back-to-back possessions in the second as Jones scored on runs of 5 and 6 yards to give it a 14-0 halftime lead.
With 7 minutes 45 seconds left in the third, the Eagles, who had 22 first downs in the game, marched 55 yards as Jones capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run to take a 21-0 lead after the extra point.
Kicker Evan Patterson pushed the lead to 24-0 after a 26-yard field goal with 3:21 remaining to cap off a 6-play, 42-yard drive.
After a St. Charles fumble on the ensuing drive, Poole responded with a 34-yard touchdown to cap off the scoring.
The Spartans were held to just 71 yards rushing on 37 carries. Senior quarterback Marlon Brown threw for 93 yards in the loss.
“We have to find a way to be able to finish,” said Williams, whose team is scheduled to take on La Plata in a division contest at 7 p.m. Friday. The Warriors fell to Thomas Stone, 31-30, in Week 5. “After that first drive, it was a completely different outcome and my hats are off to coach Petre and his staff for having his guys ready to play football for four quarters.”