Down by 19 points at halftime to visiting Francis Howell North, things looked pretty bleak for the Northwest Lions on Friday night.
But the Lions rebounded in the second half, and led by the powerful running of senior tailback Caleb Camacho, they pulled out a 43-39 victory.
Camacho ended the night with 346 yards on 38 carries. He scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 20-yard run with 50 seconds left in the game, one of his four TDs on the night.
Senior quarterback Dillon Fisher, who alternated on the night with junior Seth Fortner, said he is used to seeing Camacho stand out.
“He’s our workhorse,” Fisher said. “Everything revolves around him.”
The Knights led 39-36 and had a chance to ice the game from the 1-yard line with time winding down. But the Lions knocked the ball free and from his linebacker spot Camacho fell on it, setting up the game-winning 99-yard drive.
“Me and Jake Winstead we went in the A-gap and hit the ball with our helmets,” Camacho said. “I ended up getting it and it felt so good. That winning drive was amazing.”
The drive almost stalled when Northwest faced a fourth-and-4 at the Howell North 27-yard line. But Fortner rolled out right and found senior tight end Winstead for a seven-yard gain.
From the start the Knights came out firing with a dynamic passing attack led by quarterback Aidan McDaniel and wideout Maurice Massey. After recovering a Northwest fumble they marched down the field and took a 7-0 lead on a 2-yard run by running back Taron Woods with 8:06 to go in the opening quarter.
The Knights then made it 14-0 on a 36-yard scoring pass from McDaniel to Massey. Northwest cut the deficit in half on its next possession as Fisher completed a 66-yard scoring pass to Rylan Depew.
But Howell North came right back with a 53-yard strike to make it 21-7. On Northwest’s next possession, Camacho scored his first TD on a 25-yard run to move the Lions within seven.
However, the Knights scored two more times before the end of the half to lead 33-14 at the break.
Northwest opened the second half with a drive that was capped by a 6-yard scoring run from fullback Calvin Cromer. The fullback finished with 78 yards on 14 carries.
After the Lions held the Knights on downs the Lions came back with another scoring run from Camacho, this one from one yard out, to make it 33-28.
Massey answered with a 37-yard TD reception from McDaniel, and the two-point play failed to make it 39-28. With 9:10 left, Camacho scored again from two yards out then added a two-point run to make it 39-36.
First-year Northwest head coach Corey Toenjes was ecstatic after the game.
“I’m so proud of them,” Toenjes said. “(In the second half) we got back to more Northwest style of football and just ran it down their throats. They were more athletic than we were. They had some dynamite players. But we just stuck together as a team.”
Toenjes also had plenty to say about Camacho.
“He’s our heart and soul. He sets the tempo,” Toenjes said. “He is the face of our program. He’s 5-5, 185, but he plays a lot bigger than that.”
Camacho deflected the praise for him toward the Northwest offensive line.
“I couldn’t have run for all those yards without them,” Camacho said. “They won this game not me.”
Warriors fall at Farmington
The Knights outscored Fox 21-14 in the second quarter and tacked on a touchdown in the fourth quarter to win the season opener for both teams 28-14 on Friday.
The two teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter of the non-conference game, with Farmington scoring on a 19-yard pass with 24 seconds to go in the first half. Fox running back Dominic Monti scored on a 46-yard run with 8:44 left in the second to tie the game 7-7.
Fox quarterback Gavin McGinnis only threw eight passes, but one of them was an 11-yard scoring strike to Landon Wilson with 1:06 left in the half to knot the score 14-14.
Junior running back Bob Neibert led the Warriors with 122 yards on the ground on 21 carries. Defensive back Kohl Bulard led Fox with 12 tackles.
Fox is back on the road this week with a trip on Friday to Clayton.
Jaguars lose in Bonne Terre
Seckman opened the season with a 51-7 loss to North County on Friday. The Jaguars trailed the Raiders 16-7 after the first quarter, but were outscored 35-0 the rest of the game.
Seckman travels to Affton (0-1) on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.