By the time the fourth quarter arrived, the Polar Bears were in motion. They scored three touchdowns and shut down Carlisle to rally for a 28-8 nonconference victory.
“It was just all of us coming together and finally playing as a family and a team working together to get it done,” Northridge’s Jayden Kelly said. “He [Smith] wanted us to speak and communicate and all work together and stop getting on each other’s butts and arguing out there on the field.”
The Polar Bears are a happy bunch again. The team that went 7-4 last year and made the playoffs after a 1-2 start that included a loss to Carlisle, is 3-0.
“It means a lot because of the look on their faces,” Smith said. “Whatever it is they’re going to get after it. That’s their attitude now. We’ve had a lot of great kids, but this could be a really special group.”
Down 8-6, the Northridge defense stopped Carlisle (2-1) on fourth-and-7 at the 17, which was the third time the Indians were close to scoring but didn’t.
Henry, who entered the game with 420 rushing yards, began to wear on the Carlisle defense with his 6-foot-1, 205-pound body and moved the Polar Bears down the field on his way to a 94-yard night.
On fourth-and-12 from the Carlisle 25, Kelly hit Jaylen Holloway at the goal line on a post pattern for a 14-8 lead with 10:48 to play. It was a rare pass for the Polar Bears.
“We throw it but we just haven’t had to,” Smith said. “There’s no reason just to put it up to be putting it up. We’ve got some cats outside that can run. We’ll throw it more.”
With a couple more passes mixed in, the Bears put the game away on runs of three and 32 yards by Kelly, who played slot receiver last year.
“They definitely got tired, and then we just really finished them off,” Henry said. “And the last quarter, we just kept on shutting them down.”
The defense, which spent long stretches on the field against Carlisle’s triple-option run game, forced two three-and-outs to set up Kelly’s final two scores.
Senior linebackers Henry and Marcus Tyree took turns making most of the tackles, and junior Joseph Cboins spent a lot of time in the Carlisle backfield and made two sacks in the fourth quarter. Cboins usually plays tackle but had to play end because two starters were out.
“He’s been really aggressive all year, and we’re really proud of his efforts,” Smith said of Cboins.
Carlisle controlled the game for three quarters but couldn’t build on its early 8-0 lead. They opened with a 15-play, 71-yard drive capped by Blake Lawson’s 12-yard touchdown run. After that it was a turnover and missed opportunities.
A fumble that Tyree forced on a sack and Henry recovered set up a short drive and seven-yard touchdown run by Henry early in the second quarter. The Indians also got to the seven late in the first half but went backward on four plays and didn’t score. In the third they got in the red zone again but dropped a pass and didn’t score.
“Really three plays that we didn’t make, in my opinion, if we get those plays, we’re in pretty good shape,” Carlisle coach Scott Clodfelter said. “But give credit to Northridge. They played very well, they play hard and they’re fast.”
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