Justin Northwest football uses momentum to defeat Keller Central, stay undefeated

Momentum is a funny thing in high school football .

Sometimes you get it. Sometimes it gets taken away and sometimes it just snowballs.

Keller Central suffered some of the latter two as a trio of plays on the first two possessions of the third quarter made a world of difference in a 28-14 win for the Justin Northwest Texans (6-0, 4-0 District 4-6A) on Thursday at KISD Athletic Complex.

“They did a great job preparing for us,” Northwest coach Bill Poe said. “They gave us all they had, for sure.”

Trying to avoid a fifth straight loss, the Chargers got the ball first in the third quarter but had a quick four-and-out — after an illegal motion call. On the punt, it looked like the Chargers got a break.

A scrum near a bouncing ball hit a Northwest player and Hayden Snow was there to pick it up for Keller Central at the 41-yard line.

Down 14-7, the Chargers were about to take over with a chance to tie in Northwest territory. Instead, a discussion with officials followed and the Texans got the ball. Poe said the forced contact was the deciding factor why the Texans got the ball.

“The ball kind of bounced our way, definitely,” Poe said.

For Keller Central first-year head coach Eric Vance, he pinpointed the need to put the ball on the drive as an issue.

“We got to learn to convert those [third downs] and we can’t put ourselves behind the sticks with penalties and negative plays,” the former NFL player said. “Here’s the deal … we can’t afford to beat ourselves. When we play against our opponent, we’re pretty darn good.”

Northwest quarterback Ryder Norton connected with Keegan Wells for an 11-yard gain and then to Tyler Singer for a 14-yard gain to move into Keller Central territory early in the drive. Norton was injured two plays later — he left the stadium with his arm in a sling — and backup quarterback Trey Poe came in to finish that drive and then the game.

Facing a 4th-and-6 from the 40, Central looked to have stopped the drive with a sack of Poe for an 8-yard loss. A yellow flag turned into an offsides call on the Chargers, and the Texans got another chance.

Facing 4th-and-1 from the 27, running back Nate Jean got the carry and ran to his right for a touchdown, and the Texans went up 21-7.

“For us to get the ball in the end zone on that drive, was really huge; kind of break their back drive,” Poe said.

Keller Central (1-6, 0-4) and Northwest traded turnovers after that score. Kaden Olson recovered a fumble for Northwest, but two plays later, Poe was hit while he threw. The ball fluttered and Brayden Nichols picked it off for Keller Central.

On the next play, Daven Taylor got an interception for the Texans inside the red zone.

Jean had four straight carries to open the fourth quarter and then Poe completed back-to-back passes. The second was a 18-yard, jump-ball touchdown catch by Singer on the end of the end zone.

That expanded the Texans’ advantage to 28-7 with 9:10 left to play. Jean, a senior who is also an all-state wrestler, had more than 120 yards on the ground. He bulldozed his way for long runs in the second half.

“He’s a workhorse,” Poe said of Jean. “Nate is one of our best leaders and our hardest worker within the program. The proof is in the pudding just by what he’s able to do on Friday nights. The offensive line created those holes for him, but when Nate gets the pad level going and he gets running, he’s always hard to bring down.”

Keller Central accounted for the final score at the 5:38 mark. On 3rd-and-goal from the 1, Spencer Martin scored for the Chargers. McAfee had runs of 18 and 34 yards to help get the ball to the Northwest 20-yard line.

Northwest built a 14-0 on its first two drives of the first quarter.

The Texans marched 63 yards on 8 plays to open the contest, ending with Norton hitting Singer for a 5-yard touchdown pass at the 9:05 mark.

Northwest scored again at the 4:25 mark — a drive that took only four plays and 1:05 off the clock.

Norton connected with a wide-open Wells for a touchdown down the Keller Central sideline on a busted coverage. Ryan Schellenberg’s PAT made it 14-0.

The Chargers trimmed into the lead midway into the second. After stopping the Texans a yard short of a first down on 4th-and-9, Keller Central took over at its 26-yard line.

Two direct snaps to running back McAfee followed and he gained 65 yards. On 2nd-and-goal from the 11, senior quarterback Landon Smith kept it and ran up the middle for a touchdown.

The Texans had two chances to score before halftime and came up short on both. The first was due to a fumble at the 13-yard line, forced by Keller Central’s Austin Moon and recovered by Austin Martin. In the closing seconds of the second quarter, a 45-yard field goal attempt was short.

The 14-point win for the Texans was the closest of the year. Keller played Northwest within 16 on Sept. 13.

“When you look at that team and the way they beat all the other teams on that schedule,” Vance said. “For us to come … we won only one game … to come out and fight the way we did, I’m proud of these guys. But we didn’t accomplish our goal, and we didn’t finish what we set out to do.”

Northwest, No. 7 in the Star-Telegram’s Class 6A rankings , will host Southlake Carroll on Oct. 17 in a battle of undefeated teams.