GARRETT — The Garrett Railroaders and West Noble Chargers staged a classic defensive battle in a crucial Northeast Corner Conference Big Division battle at Memorial Field Friday.
For the game, the teams combined for 346 yards of total offense — 167 by West Noble and 179 by Garrett.
The Railroaders turned the ball over five times in the first half, but trailed only 10-6 at halftime and were clearly in the game.
The Chargers took seven minutes off the clock on their opening drive of the game, but had to settle for a 22-yard field goal from Nefty Silva that just got over the crossbar with 4:38 left in the first quarter.
West Noble was able to take advantage of a Garrett turnover on the ensuing kickoff when Railroader returner Kayden Bush was stripped of the ball, with the visitors recovering at the Garrett 24.
A few runs got the visitors a first down at the 14, and three plays later, Dustin Richardson scored from 7 yards out. Silva made good on the kick and West Noble led 10-0 with 2:07 left in the first.
Garrett turned the ball over on its next three possessions — a botched handoff and two interceptions — all in its end of the field, but the defense drew a line in the sand, keeping West Noble off the scoreboard the rest of the half.
The fumbled handoff gave the Chargers the ball at the Garrett 43 early in the second quarter, but the visitors went three-and-out.
West Noble’s Trey Shisler picked off a pass from Garrett’s Wyatt Hefty, giving his team a prime scoring chance at the Railroader 12, but on the very next play, Garrett’s Aiden Reed recovered a fumble.
Two plays later, West Noble had the ball again, this time following a Lucas Conway interception at the Garrett 29. The Chargers would turn the ball over on downs however.
Garrett put together an impressive eight-play, 78-yard scoring drive to make it a one-score game, capped by Reed’s 14-yard touchdown run with 2:02 left in the half.
On the drive, West Noble was flagged for big facemask and pass interference penalties, adding 15 yards each time to Garrett’s momentum. The Chargers, however, blocked the extra point.
Garrett had one more chance before the half ended, but Trevor Steele picked off a Hefty pass with just over a minute left.
After its impressive opening drive, the Chargers sputtered offensively the rest of the first half, and didn’t gain a first down in the second quarter until Garrett was flagged for pass interference in the final minute.
Garrett got the ball to start the second half, but could only get one first down before being forced to punt.
West Noble made the most of its first possession of the third quarter, putting together a nine-play, 67-yard drive capped by a 16-yard run by Richardson. Silva made the extra point, extending the Chargers’ lead to 17-6.
That’s where the score stayed the rest of the way.
Garrett got the ball deep into West Noble twice in the second half but could not find the end zone.
Shisler completed 12-of-23 passes for 104 yards. He was rocked by a big hit by Garrett’s Aiden Hunt late in the first half.
McKale Bottles caught seven passes for 63 yards for West Noble. Richardson was the Chargers’ top rusher, gaining 27 yards on three carries.
Reed finished with 80 rushing yards on 16 carries. Carter Fielden picked up 30 yards on 10 attempts and Alex Guzman added 20 yards on five carries. Hefty completed 5-of-13 passes for 40 yards.
West Noble improved to 5-1 in all games and 3-0 in NECC Big Division play. Garrett is now 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the division.
Both teams are home Friday, with West Noble entertaining Lakeland and Garrett hosting Fairfield.