North Delta wins over Marshall in final play

By Brad Greer
It was a good thing Harris Cole was in the right place at the right time on North Delta’s final play Friday night against Marshall Academy.
Trailing 23-17 with four seconds remaining from its own 33-yard line, Green Wave quarterback Will Kidder scrambled around and heaved a desperation pass into the endzone into the hands of Cole for the tying touchdown as time expired.
Senior kicker Hudson Parnell then calmly nailed the point after attempt to give North Delta a trilling 24-23 victory in the final regular season home game.
“We were in a bunch formation. I just ran into the end zone. The play wasn’t intended for me but I guess I was there at the right time. We have had a few games with Marshall that has come down to the wire, but this is something I’ll never forget,” said Cole.
With the win, North Delta improved their record to 4-5 on the year while Marshall fell to 7-2. The Green Wave closes out the regular season Friday at Fayette, Tenn.
North Delta began their winning drive on its own 42 with 1:20  remaining after the Patriots had taken a 23-17 lead. Kidder kept the drive alive with a two-yard run on a fourth-and-one from Patriot 49. Three plays later, Kidder hit Tyler Holland for a seven yard gain on third that set up the final play.
“ It just doesn’t get any better than this,” proclaimed  Kidder after the game.
“ I just told Harris and Luke (Daniels) to go deep and I just threw it up. This was our seniors last game on this field so you can not ask for a better ending,” said Kidder who ended the night 16-of-26 passing for 220 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
North Delta took a 9-7 advantage after three quarters of play before the lead changed hands twice in the final stanza.
Canaan Person’s three-yard touchdown run and subsequent two point conversion gave Marshall a 15-9 lead at the 10:46 mark.
North Delta regained the lead  17-15 when Kidder connected with Luke Daniels on a three-yard scoring pass with 4:00 remaining. The duo hooked up again for the go-ahead two-point conversion. The drive was set up by a huge fumble recovery by Drew McCool at the Patriot 29-yard line.
Marshall out-gained North Delta 324- 271 in total yardage while rushing for 231 yards. The Green Wave was held to 51 yards rushing on 24 attempts.
Kidder led North Delta on the ground with 64 yards on 19 carries while Kaleb Joyner added five carries for nine yards. Joyner caught five passes for 47 yards.
“We knew this was going to be a tough game tonight, it always seems to be when we play those guys. They have a good ball team. Our defense stepped up and did a great job holding them out of the endzone for most of the night,” said North Delta head coach Brandon Ciaramitaro.
“Drew came up with a big fumble recovery late in the game and Christopher Williamson made a huge stop on fourth-and-goal in the third quarter. I am so proud of the way our guys competed tonight and sent our seniors out  in a positive way,” said Ciaramitaro.
North Delta grabbed a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter as Kidder connected with John Haga Lewis on a 77-yard scoring strike with Parnell tacking on the PAT.
The Patriots tied the contest with 5:29 left in the half on a Eli Pearson 14-yard run that capped off a eight-play; 80-yard drive.
Lewis led North Delta in receiving with five catches for 98 yards while Holland, Cole and Daniels hauled in two receptions each.
McCool led North Delta defensivly with nine tackles while Williamson garnered eight stops. Dalton Cook provided five tackles and Sully Williamson chipped in the three tackles. Holland also intercepted a pass on the first play of the game.