Bo Scarbrough’s dash sets tone for Northridge victory

Sat. September 15, 2012 at 12:36 a.m. | By Andrew Carroll

ADAMSVILLE | What was supposed to be Northridge’s first play from scrimmage Friday night resulted in a holding call. On the first official play, junior running back Bo Scarbrough boosted his yards-per-carry average.

Scarbrough found perfect blocking over the right side of the formation and scored on a 92-yard run. The Jaguars, ranked No. 6 in Class 6A, added three more touchdowns and defeated Minor 28-13 in a Region 5 game.

Scarbrough, who announced last week that he had made a verbal commitment to the University of Alabama, gained 159 yards on 21 carries.

“I’m feeling pretty great about this game,” Scarbrough said. “We’re 3-0, got a big game ahead of us next week. So now we’re just going to go back to Tuscaloosa and get ready for (No. 1-ranked) Hoover.”

The Jaguars faced first-and-24 when Scarbrough took his first handoff from quarterback Tanner Cline.

“All I saw was the hole, and I just want to thank my offensive line for that,” said the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Scarbrough.

In the second quarter, the Jaguars faced fourth-and-11 from the Minor 27. Coach Mike Smith chose to go for it, and Cline threw a touchdown pass to Cyontai Lewis. Dylan Smith kicked the extra point, and Northridge had a 14-0 lead with 5:30 left in the half.

Minor (0-3, 0-2) answered with a 16-yard touchdown run by Monddarius Griggs at the 1:59 mark. Ryan England added the extra point to cut the deficit to 14-7.

Griggs, listed an as athlete on the Minor roster, rushed for 158 yards on 22 attempts.

In the third quarter, Minor faced fourth-and-9 from its 17. Jamorian Hill rushed from the left end to block the punt attempt, and Rashaad Howard recovered the football in the end zone for a touchdown.

“My assignment was to come off the edge and go block the ball,” Hill said.

“It was open, so I went for it. I felt it hit my body. It was a fun moment. When we recovered it in the end zone, that made me kind of happy.”

Northridge (3-0, 2-0) got its final touchdown on a 12-yard run by Deondre Rogers with 3:56 left.

The Tigers’ last touchdown came on an 84-yard pass from Eddie Johnson to Griggs with 38 seconds remaining.

Minor recovered an onside kick but couldn’t score again before time ran out.

Northrdge plays at home Friday in a region game against Hoover.

Reach Andrew Carroll at andrew.carroll@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0223.