Dominick Haynes, Brody Waddle help Northwood notch win over Holston (copy)
Northwood's Dominick Haynes
SALTVILLE, Va. – On a night when Brody Waddle reached a monumental milestone, it was Dominick Haynes who provided a major momentum boost for the Northwood Panthers.
Haynes blocked a punt early in the third quarter in what was the most pivotal of plays for the Panthers and Waddle became Northwood’s all-time leading rusher to highlight a 29-13 Hogoheegee District football victory over the Holston Cavaliers on Friday.
Northwood (5-2, 1-1) dominated the second half in solidifying its position in the VHSL Region 1D playoffs and bounced back from a 28-26 loss at Auburn the week before.
The offense moved the ball consistently, while the defense contained Holston’s speedy playmakers on Friday night.
Oh yeah, it was also Northwood’s first win over the dudes from Damascus since 2017.
An impressive performance to say the least.
“We watched a lot of film this week and knew they had a lot of weapons,” Waddle said. “We stuck to the gameplan.”
The teams battled to a stalemate for nearly the duration of the first half until Northwood got on the board on Dawson Prater’s 47-yard touchdown pass to Duke Colley with 1:19 remaining in the second quarter.
An onside kick failed and Holston – aided by two 15-yard penalties on the Panthers – scored with 17.6 seconds left in the opening half when lineman Cody Cordle recovered a fumble by teammate Eli Tweed in the end zone.
Holston led 7-6 at the break and the Cavaliers were due to receive the second half kickoff.
“We didn’t let that fluster us,” Waddle said. “We came back and gave it all we had.”
Holston lined up for a punt at its own 31-yard line after getting nothing on its first three plays and on the previous boot Tweed had unleashed a kick that wound up traveling 82 yards thanks to a big bounce and a long roll.
His kick would go nowhere this time as Haynes broke through the line untouched to block the attempt.
“The punt before that I saw [one of the protection guys] not step down and he left a big hole,” Haynes said. “The next time, the coaches did not call me to blitz but I said, ‘I have to blitz.’ I got through, put my arms up and felt the ball hit me.”
Senior lineman Brady Sanders scooped up the pigskin and returned it to the Holston 9-yard line with just 102 seconds having elapsed from the clock in the second half.
One play later, Waddle waltzed into the end zone to give the Panthers a lead they never relinquished.
“That was big,” Waddle said. “I think that was the turning point in the game.”
Holston bungled a handoff on its ensuing possession as Brett Garner recovered the fumble and this time Skylar Boardwine (eight carries, 42 yards) scored three plays later.
Northwood led 20-7 with 8:46 remaining in the third quarter.
“Those plays were game changers,” said Northwood coach Greg Prater. “We came out the second half and we played football.”
It was a hole too big for Holston to dig out of.
“They had our number all night,” said Holston coach Chris Akers. “I thought they just outplayed us, outcoached us. We had those two mishaps deep in our own territory and we never could recover from that.”
Holston did pull within 20-13 with 5:16 remaining in the third quarter as Eli Tweed scored on a 39-yard touchdown run.
How did Northwood respond?
An eight-play, 74-yard scoring march that culminated with a touchdown run by Brett Garner.
Northwood's Brody Waddle.
On the first play of that drive, Waddle reeled off a 23-yard run that made school history.
He became Northwood’s career rushing king, breaking the old record of 4,085 yards established by Bo Buchanan from 1996-1999.
Waddle also holds the school record for touchdowns with 43.
Which mark means more?
“I like ‘em both the same,” Waddle said. “Maybe, the rushing a little more because I have had to run as hard as I can for four years.”
Of course, Waddle gave props to his offensive linemen, including the current crop of trench warriors such as James Belcher, Jeremiah Belcher, Brayden Havens, Brady Sanders, Skylar Griffey (who was injured in Friday’s game) and Tyler Martin.
“It’s their record as much as mine,” Waddle said. “My name’s just on it. I appreciate everything they do for me.”
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Waddle finished with 209 yards on 25 carries in the kind of showing Prater has seen many times before.
“He’s a beast,” Prater said. “He’s been our go-to guy for the last few years and he’s a thrill to have on the team. He’ll look over and he’ll point at himself like, give me the ball. I’m glad to have him on my side. I know some of these other coaches we play hate to practice for him because he runs so hard.”
Holston couldn't stop him from picking up the tough yards on Friday.
“He’s a player,” Akers said. “There were times when we had guys there and we just couldn’t put him on the ground. It’s not just him though, they have a couple of guys to go with him too that are absolutely players. We have to get better that’s for sure.”
Holston got inside the Northwood 10-yard line with 6:22 remaining in the game, but a 4th-and-Goal pass was batted down in the end zone by Haynes.
He sure had himself a night.
“He’s been good all year,” Prater said. “He’s put in a lot of hard work. All these kids have and I am super proud of them.”
A Dawson Prater 32-yard field goal and an interception by sophomore Sylas Taylor occurred in the fourth quarter and helped the Panthers polish off the victory. Randy Kestner was also active on defense for the squad from Saltville.
Holston (5-2, 2-1) had its four-game winning streak snapped.
The result gave Chilhowie (7-0, 3-0) sole possession of first place in the Hogoheegee District.
“There’s not an easy game in this district,” Akers said. “We knew that coming in here we’d have to play our absolute best and we just didn’t do it.”
Senior Levi Parks played well on defense for Holston, while Tweed gained 82 yards on 16 carries.
After rushing for 218 yards and scoring two touchdowns in Holston’s 14-6 win over Northwood last season, only two of his carries resulted in double-digit gains in the rematch.
“We put our head down and prepared well,” Haynes said. “We could not let him get to the edge.”
Haynes – one of 12 seniors on the roster for the Panthers – helped Northwood get the edge on Friday by blocking that punt in the third quarter.
Tone-setter.
“We definitely had all the momentum,” Haynes said.
Northwood coach Greg Prater.
Holston 0 7 6 0—13
Northwood 0 6 20 3—29
Scoring Summary
N – Colley 47 pass from Prater (kick failed)
H – Cordle fumble recovery in end zone (Sanchez-Medina kick)
N – Waddle 9 run (Waddle run)
N – Boardwine 2 run (kick failed)
H – E. Tweed 39 run (kick failed)
N – Garner 9 run (run failed)
N – Prater 32 FG
Team Stats
First Downs: H 12, N 12; Rushes-Yards: H 37-140, N 43-277; Passing Yards: H 92, N 45; Comp.-Att.-Int.: H 5-15-1, N 2-6-0; Fumbles-Lost: H 2-1, N 0-0; Penalties-Yards: H 10-80, N 11-110; Punts-Average: H 3-38.7, N 4-35.8.
