Three red zone stops helped the Blue Devils stay in the game and overcome a 17-7 deficit to take a 21-17 lead late, but Walton quarterback Christion Peacock hit freshman Jordan Peacock on a game-winning, 22-yard touchdown pass with 1:46 remaining, allowing the Raiders to escape with a 24-21 victory.
Walton’s (2-2) game-winning drive spanned 59 yards and just over two minutes, converting a pair of third downs to keep the offense on the field before the Peacock-to-Peacock connection finally put the Raiders in front for good on the fourth and final lead change of the night.
Norcross (2-1) had one final opportunity to tie or win the game, but could not pick up a first down as the Raiders secured the game-clinching stop after a fourth-and-12 incompletion.
“I challenged them before the game and in the second half to battle,” Norcross head coach Corey Richardson said. “Especially in the second half, coming out we were down and we battled. We just can’t make the mistakes that we made tonight as a team, because Walton is a really good team.”
Walton spent most of the first half completely controlling the balance of play, outgaining Norcross 213-77 and more than doubling up the home team in time of possession. The Raiders did bookend the half with scoring drives — a field goal on the game’s opening possession and a 6-yard touchdown run by quarterback Peacock on a fourth-and-2 in the final minute before the break — but the Blue Devils hung in the game thanks to their defense.
Norcross used a timely interception from Eric Pitts III off a tipped pass to set the offense up deep in plus territory, and running back Kendall Edwards cashed it in on the next play with a 25-yard burst to paydirt. In addition to holding the Raiders to a field goal on the opening drive, Norcross also forced a turnover on downs in the red zone when Chase Huff made an open field tackle on Jordan Peacock on a fourth-and-2 end around from the Norcross 12.
“They’ve shown signs that they’re going to protect our end zone,” Richardson said. “I was very proud of the way they kept them out. On the flip side, the way our defensive coaches are, their standards are really high, so they’ve got some things to work on and improve.”
The one-sided play continued on the first drive of the second half when Walton’s Achilles Brown picked off a deflected pass, and the Raiders capitalized on the turnover when Peacock scrambled for 21 yards on third-and-16 to extend the drive, then hit his top target Noriega Thompson for a 19-yard touchdown on the next play.
Noriega was the bellcow for the visitors all night, rushing for 131 yards on 32 carries along with four receptions for 48 yards.
The Blue Devils finally answered with two touchdowns on the next three possessions. Quarterback P.J. Wolfe connected with tight end Davis Marschke on a floated 21-yard pass on the first one, and running back Josh Burks took his first and only carry of the game to the end zone from 24 yards out early in the final frame.
But the drive between the two touchdowns proved to be very costly. The Blue Devils moved the ball into scoring range for kicker Elijah Frey, but Walton’s Mario Dixon came around the right edge and blocked the field goal.
Norcross got a reprieve after a defensive penalty, only for Dixon to come around on almost an identical play and block the re-kick, preserving the three-point advantage.
“We had a timing issue on the first one and the second one they blocked it,” Richardson said. “We’ve just got to go in and fix those mistakes.”
The stakes will ramp up big time next week, as the Blue Devils will hit the road to take on rival Duluth in the region opener.
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