ScoutSouth.com: Chiefs Edge Etowah

North Jackson ended the regular season with another win Friday night, defeating the Etowah Blue Devils 21-14 in Attalla. The Chiefs, top-ranked in 4A by the Alabama Sportswriters and coaches, ended the regular season at 10-0, one of only two 4A teams in the state to remain unbeaten. Tuscaloosa-Central, the No.2 team in the ASWA rankings, is the other team at 10-0.

The NJHS-Etowah game was a defensive struggle as neither team was able to muster much of a running game. The Chiefs rushed for 41 yards, and Etowah only had 31 yards on the ground in the contest. That forced both teams to go to the air, and North Jackson was more effective there.

Zack Stewart hit Tana Patrick with a pair of scoring passes, one of 71 yard, and the other from 23 yards out.

The other North Jackson touchdown came on another blocked punt and subsequent return by Jovani Taylor who pulled off the same play last week against Madison County.

Etowah scored on a pair of short runs, a three-yarder by Davin Hawkins, and a one-yard plunge by quarterback Stephen Woodall. The first Blue Devil TD followed a North Jackson lost fumble at the Chiefs' 5-yard line.

Patrick finished the game with three catches for 100 yards and the two scores. For the season, Tana has caught 11 passes and scored eight touchdowns, so he almost averages a touchdown every time he catches the ball.

The leading defenders in the game for the Chiefs were Frankie Crabtree with 13 tackles and Zack Hammontree with 11 stops.

The Chiefs now prepare to host the Oneonta Redskins in a first round playoff game at R.D. Hicks Stadium Friday night.

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