On Friday, October 28, North Point took the field at Eagle Stadium for the final time this season in their Homecoming/Senior Night game against La Plata High School. The Homecoming festivities started at the beginning of the week as Spirit Week went underway. Students displayed their pride for their school in school with their costumes and outfits, as well as on the internet, where students, lead by Naim Muhammed (’13), made #NPNation a trending topic on the social networking site Twitter the night before the game.
Moments before the beginning of the game on Friday, in the sleet and rain, North Point celebrated the Senior football players, Band and Poms members, and the Cheerleaders for their contribution to North Point athletics. With much anticipation and excitement going into the game, many football fans would have been lead to believe that North Point would sleep on the 1-7 Warriors, mistaking their opponents as an easy victory. What many people seemed to forget, however, was how explosive and dangerous the Eagles can be when clicking on all cylinders. In great effort in all aspects of the game, the North Point Eagles shut out La Plata 44-0.
The contest began with a stalled drive by North Point, who failed to get any offensive momentum going with the first possession. The Eagles offense went to the sideline to rest as the ball was punted, but was quickly put back onto the field as La Plata muffed the punt, relinquishing possession back to North Point. Shortly after, kicker Bryce Fugitt (’12) put the first points on the board for the Eagles with a field goal.
The first quarter ended with the Eagles up 3-0, and was beginning to look like a defensive struggle on both sides. Shortly after the second quarter began, defensive back Blake Monroe (’12) intercepted a La Plata pass and took it 57 yards to the end zone, increasing the North Point lead to 10-0 after Fugitt’s made extra point attempt.
Upon receiving the football, the Warriors began to move the ball downfield. With a long pass completion on the drive, the Warriors were within 30 yards of the end zone and threatening to score. North Point’s defense denied them that opportunity, forcing La Plata to kick a field goal. The attempt went far left, and North Point took the ball back. They proceeded to march downfield with a steady mix of passing and running, and finally scored again with a 10 yard touchdown run by Monroe. At this point, the Eagles were up 17-0 and had no intentions of slowing down. Connor Young (’12) threw his first touchdown pass of the game to fullback Frank Marshall (’12) for 8 yards. “After last week (Young threw 4 Interceptions against Friendship Collegiate Academy), I knew I had to focus and play my game,” Young stated. With Marshall’s touchdown catch, North Point extended the lead to 23-0 following Fugitt’s missed extra point. According to Marshall, his touchdown “kind of put the game away and gave us more confidence to finish it out strong.”
By halftime, North Point was up 30-0, after Young threw his second touchdown of the night to Charles Reid (’12). Unfortunately, for La Plata, the game didn’t end there. When La Plata got the ball to open the second half, North Point made quick work for their defense, causing a three-and-out. On the ensuing punt, Kortez Prather (’12) returned the ball to the La Plata 20 yard line, and a few plays later, running back DJ Briscoe (’12) walked into the end zone untouched for a nine yard touchdown.
With a 37-0 lead, North Point began taking out their starters and giving many of the backups playing time. Surprisingly to some, the Eagles did not lose any momentum, as the offense and defense continued to dominate without their stars. The only hiccup on the night for North Point was when Young fumbled the ball within the La Plata 10 yard line, resulting in his first, and only, turnover for the day. The turnover didn’t faze the Eagles, as Elijah Robinson (’13) intercepted a Warrior pass on the following drive. Then, with one final statement, the backup fullback Kevin Ramseur (’12) scored the last touchdown on the night with a 35 yard touchdown.
Following the victory, North Point now sits in a four way tie with Huntingtown, Patuxent, and Westlake for a share of the SMAC Title. With their matchup against Westlake on November 4th, the Eagles’ share of the title, and possibly their playoff position, is on the line. As always, the North Point-Westlake matchup will be intense, hard fought battle, leaving the winning team with bragging rights until next year’s game.
Side note – North Point is now 4-1 all time against La Plata, losing it’s only matchup with them in 2007, the Eagles first year with a varsity football team. Currently, North Point is 2-2 all time against Westlake.
