George Wythe defeats Northwood

By JESSE DINGER/Correspondent

The George Wythe Maroons traveled to Saltville Friday night, and defeated the hosting Northwood Panthers 49-6 on a night filled with cold, rain, and lighting failure.
When the teams came out of the locker room after halftime, about 90 seconds were played when suddenly, the stadium lights went completely dark, leaving the field pitch black for close to 15 minutes before the game was able to resume.
You might be able to blame the Maroons for the lighting failure, as before this point, the team had been playing lights out, scoring 42 points in the first 15 minutes of the contest.
With the win, this sets up George Wythe for a shot at the district championship.  The Maroons, who are 4-0 in the Hogoheegee District, and 5-4 overall, will take on Chilhowie, who is also 4-0 in the district, and is 9-0 overall on Halloween night at Chilhowie.
The winner will not only win the district title, but will also assure themselves of a Region C, Division 2 playoff spot. With the way things are unfolding this year, with all Division 2 teams having a good chance of winning their respected district championships, their may only be one wildcard spot available, if any at all.
Northwood is winless on the season, at 0-4 in the district and 0-9 overall.
Several players for the Maroons had excellent games.  Quarterback Jacob Sharitz had over 100 yards passing and threw for three touchdowns.  The running back combination of Will Sawyers and Jonathan Turpin played well, combining to account for a total of four touchdowns. 
Receiver Brandon Atwell had a good game as well, having two touchdown catches, and also kicking six successful extra points.  Defensively, Drew Lester played great for GW, recovering two Panther fumbles, returning one of them for a touchdown.
Northwood received the opening kickoff, but quickly had to punt.  Atwell received the kick and had a nice return that put the Maroons at the Panthers 30 yard line.  Turpin then carried for 18 yards on first down.
A few plays later, GW was on the one-yard line, where Sharitz hit Atwell with a touchdown pass.  Atwell then connected with the extra point, putting the Maroons up 7-0 with 5:57 left in the opening quarter.
After a short possession again by the Panthers, they punted, but this time put GW on their own 14 yard line.  Quickly, the Maroons were faced with a third down and 14 on their own 10, but Will Sawyers ran for 25 yards, getting out to the 35 yard line.
Turpin then experienced the same type of running success on the very next play, going around end for a 65 yard touchdown.  Atwell added the extra point.
Northwood’s next possession was short-lived, when they coughed up the ball, which Drew Lester recovered to give the Maroons the ball on the 20 yard line.  On the first play, Sharitz hit Sawyers for a 20 yard touchdown, and the visitors had taken complete control of the game.
On GW’s next drive, it quickly moved the ball down to the five-yard line with two big catches from Atwell and Tyler Wood.
On the first and goal play from the 5 yard line, Sharitz hit Atwell in the end zone again for a touchdown.  Atwell then kicked the PAT.
Northwood’s offensive struggles had gotten so bad, that on its next possession, on its own 2 yard line, it decided to attempt a quick punt on third down, but unfortunately, that backfired as well, as the ball took a backwards bounce, and was downed on the 5 yard line.  2 plays later, Sawyers plunged in from 3 yards out.
Northwood again had its back against its own end zone on the next drive, and eventually fumbled on the 2 yard line, which Lester recovered again, this time taking it into the end zone. With 9:37 left in the second quarter, it was already 42-0 in the Maroons favor.
GW started subbing on the next defensive series, and the Panthers were able to put together a lengthy drive that took over eight minutes, before Keesee was able to score from 6 yards out.  Northwood’s 2 point conversion attempt failed, however, which made the score 42-6, which is how it went into halftime.
The Maroons got the ball first in the second half at their own 10 yard line, but big plays by Levi Lanter, Sawyers, Turpin, and Wood got GW down to the Panthers 10 yard line.
Sawyers was able to find the end zone from that spot on a second down play.  JV kicker Hunter Jones added the extra point for the Maroons, putting them up 49-6 with 6:06 remaining in the third quarter.
That ended up being the final score of the game as GW unloaded its bench for the final part of the game.

George Wythe 21 21 7 0—49
Northwood 0 6 0 0—6

Scoring:
GW-Atwell 1 pass from Sharitz (Atwell kick)
GW-Turpin 65 run (Atwell kick)
GW-Sawyers 20 pass from Sharitz (Atwell kick)
GW-Atwell 5 pass from Sharitz (Atwell kick)
GW-Sawyers 3 run (Atwell kick)
GW-Lester 2 fumble return (Atwell kick)
NW-Keesee 6 run (run failed)
GW-Sawyers 10 run (Jones kick)

Team GW NHS
First downs 12 6
Yards rushing 21-216 27-63
Yards passing 125 10
Comp-Att-Int 9-13-0 1-5-0
Punts/Avg. 0-0 6-32.3
Fumbles-lost 0-0 4-2
Penalties-yds. 4-20 5-21
(Stats courtesy of Kenny Sayers)