Nighthawks Win Homecoming Game Over Pueblo East In OT Thriller

It was a rollercoaster of emotions for the Nighthawks and their fans in their 28-27 overtime victory over the Eagles on homecoming weekend. Pueblo jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter, quieting some of the initial noise from the Nighthawks student section. However, Northfield would respond and after a failed two point attempt, the score was 14-6 at half time. The two teams would trade touchdowns in the third quarter and going into the fourth quarter, the Eagles were up 21-12. In the fourth quarter, Pueblo played conservative, trying to run out the clock. However, after a field goal by senior Ethan Meikle and a defensive stop, the Nighthawks got the ball trailing by six with a little over two minutes remaining. On just the second play of the drive, junior Zavious Chineth ripped off a 75 yard run to tie the game at 21. Then, just when it looked like the Nighthawks would take the lead, the extra point was blocked, and the game remained even. When the Eagles got the ball back, they remained conservative and just tried to send the game into overtime. However, they got into a punting situation with 12 seconds on the clock. On the punt attempt, the snap was low and went rolling past the punter, who made an incredible play to run back and just get off a punt. Because of the botched snap, Northfield wound up with decent field position and after a short completion set up a potential game-winning 50 yard field goal attempt. Meikle, the kicker, ended up having the distance on this long kick, but pushed it just left.

In Colorado, high school overtime rules are similar to those used in college. Each team gets one possession from the ten yard line and whoever scores more on their attempt wins. Northfield would start with the ball and on their first play, Chineth would get another touchdown and give the Nighthawks a seven point lead. Pueblo would also go on to score a touchdown but, down one, they chose to go for two for the game. The Eagles would end up getting a receiver open in the back of the end zone, but the pass went just off his fingertips and the crowd exploded.

While there were some rough patches, overall Northfield played a very good game. They showed resilience after falling behind early and made the plays they needed to when it mattered. The Nighthawks ran for over 300 yards and had four touchdowns on the ground. The offense moved the ball up the field efficiently, especially in the second half and put the game away when they needed to in overtime. The defense only allowed seven points after the first quarter and got multiple crucial stops in the last ten minutes of the game. It was the perfect game with the perfect ending for homecoming. Now, the Nighthawks will look ahead to Thursday, when they head to Denver South for a matchup with the 1-3 Ravens.