After weather delayed the official start to the Richardson era for more than two hours, the Blue Devils appeared to be well on their way to a victory over Lanier, leading 16-0 with 1:31 left in the fourth quarter. From there, Longhorns quarterback Dominic Larocca found Hanalei Bacon from 16 yards out for the first Longhorn score. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, but Lanier recovered the onside kick and Larocca connected with Ben Vanden Bos on a 27-yard gain to the 18.
Two plays later, Larocca found Doyle Morrison for Lanier’s second touchdown in 33 seconds. Norcross blocked Tyler Vidal’s extra point attempt, before more madness unfolded.
Lanier recovered its second onside kick in as many tries, and Larocca hit Morrison for two chunk gains to the 23-yard line with 24 seconds left. Larocca then overthrew Vanden Bos on what would have been the go-ahead score before Norcross’ defense stood tall and forced a game-ending turnover on downs to secure the 16-12 win, minutes after the clock struck midnight.
Although it wasn’t a picture-perfect start, the first victory under the longtime defensive assistant’s belt was all that mattered.
“From Day 1, how the players handled themselves after I took over, they just all bought in,” Richardson said. “From the coaching staff, to our players, I’m so thrilled for them because of the hard work. They believed in me and believed in what we did in the offseason, all the hard work leading up to this opening game.”
Before the sky opened, the school honored the winningest head football coach in Gwinnett County history, Keith Maloof, with a pregame ceremony that included the stadium’s renaming to commemorate the recently retired coach’s 210 wins and two state titles.
“I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for him and the impact he’s had on my life,” Richardson said of Maloof, the mentor he replaced in the offseason. “There’s a reason why I’ve been with him for 24 years. He’s helped me grow so much as a coach, and I was happy to be a part of the celebration.”
Leading 10-0 after a halftime that included a power outage in the newly named stadium, Norcross threatened to tack on with 4:32 remaining in the third, but kicker Elijah Frey missed a 52-yard field goal attempt wide right.
After trading punts, Lanier threatened with a drive into the Norcross red zone, but as it did for the first 46 and a half minutes, the Blue Devil defense bailed out the offense as Jayson Jones intercepted Larocca in the end zone.
Josh Burks’ 26-yard rush on the first play of the fourth quarter was followed by his 31-yard pick-up on the next snap, as Norcross forged to Lanier’s 21-yard line. After Lanier stunted the drive from there, Frey connected on a 33-yard field goal to extend Norcross’ advantage to 13-0 at the 9:36 mark of the final quarter.
Chase Huff then recorded the third Blue Devil interception, but for the second time, a pick-six was erased by a block in the back, bringing the ball back to Lanier’s 24-yard line. Again, it cost Norcross points, as it settled for Frey’s 38-yard field goal with 5:50 remaining in the fourth, seemingly putting the game out of reach.
In the opening quarter, a pair of receptions by Morrison pushed the ball into Norcross territory on the game’s first drive, before Larocca connected again with Morrison for 10 yards on third and nine to reach Norcross’ 24-yard line. After a Blue Devils’ facemask advanced Lanier’s drive to the 12, Jayden Clermont picked off Larocca and had a clear path to the end zone, but a Norcross block in the back took six points off the board. The penalty proved costly, as Norcross was forced to punt on its opening drive.
After Frey’s punt pinned Lanier within the shadow of its own end zone, Norcross defensive tackle Tyler Jackson picked up Larocca’s fumble at the one-yard line, where Burks ran in the Blue Devils’ first touchdown of the season on the opening play of the second quarter.
The first score under Richardson coming as a result of a play made by a defensive lineman was fitting, as Norcross’ new head coach served as the longtime leader of the D-line under Maloof.
“The thing I love about the defense is how physical they are, but also how much they love playing for each other,” Richardson said. “I was pleased with how they played, and to get that stop at the end and hold onto the win, it was huge.”
After a Longhorn punt, Kendall Edwards broke off a 24-yard gain to the Lanier 24-yard line, but Norcross was kept out of the end zone, as Frey knocked through a 26-yard field goal to push the lead to 10 halfway through the second quarter.
A pair of defensive pass interference calls and a Norcross personal foul aided Lanier’s ensuing drive, as the Longhorns pieced together a drive to the Blue Devils’ one-yard line, before another botched snap stunted the effort and Emmanuel Monasteries came up short on a 28-yard field goal attempt with a minute left in the first half.
Before facing Mill Creek next week, there are certainly facets of Friday’s opener that Richardson will have addressed.
“We have to clean up the penalties, no doubt. We have to get better,” Richardson said. “But I was proud of how our offensive l... Click here to read full article
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