The needle points North in Plainfield

PLAINFIELD -- When Evan Engelsen nailed a booming 38-yard field goal with 34 seconds left in the first half to provide a 17-14 lead, Plainfield Central was feeling pretty good about its chances in Friday's Southwest Prairie Conference opener against Plainfield North.

But the second half belonged to the Tigers. Bryce Corrigan's passing tore apart the Wildcats' secondary, Kapri Bibbs broke a 77-yard touchdown run and the North defense shut down Central's vaunted running game for a 28-17 victory over the defending SPC champions, whom the Tigers had never beaten previously.

"At halftime, I though we had to quit playing stupid football," North coach Tim Kane said. "We played well in our first two games, without a lot of penalties and without turnovers. But the first half tonight, we did not play smart.

"To Central's credit, they capitalized and had us down. In the second half, I wanted to see how tough we were going to be, and we responded."

North (3-0, 1-0) may have had the unblemished record coming in, but Central (0-3, 0-1) served notice early on that this would play out like a district rivalry should.

Wildcats fullback Alonzo Morgan broke an 80-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage for 7-0 lead. North did respond with a touchdown drive, largely on the strength of Bibbs' running, and Bibbs scored from a yard out to tie it 7-7 with 6:45 left in the quarter.

In North's first two games, Devonta Davis had been the Tigers' leading ball carrier, with Bibbs a close second. On this occasion, Bibbs saw more of the action at tailback and finished with 146 yards in 15 carries.

But Davis found a new home as the go-to wide receiver. He caught 8 passes from Corrigan for 142 yards, including a 45-yard bomb over the middle to set up a first-and-goal at the Central 9. Three plays later, Davis swept in for a 3-yard touchdown and a 14-7 North lead early in the second quarter.

The Tigers were primed to take over, but the Wildcats were not about to go away. Engelsen pinned in the Tigers on a 53-yard punt, and when North punted out of its end zone, Ty Mangino returned it 16 yards to the Tigers' 32. Morgan, who rushed 11 times for 137 yards, then broke a 26-yard run to set up his own 1-yard scoring run to tie it at 14.

Engelsen's field goal came after Corrigan dropped a snap from shotgun formation. Central's Nicoli Trevino recovered at the 20, and the Wildcats hit the locker room up 17-14.

North drove down the field to open the second half behind Corrigan's passing, but the Central defense stiffened. North went for a tying field goal, but Lavelle Howard blocked it. Corrigan attempted to pick up the live ball and run it into the end zone, but Mark Hardman stopped him at the 2.

The Tigers fumbled the ball back to Central, with Josh Ellingwood recovering at the North 35 late in the third quarter. But the North defense, which allowed 2 first downs the whole second half, stiffened. Engelsen tried a 52-yard field goal, but it was blocked.

"Sometimes we all make mistakes, including the head man," Central coach John Jackson said of his decision to try the long field goal. "The way Evan had been kicking the ball, we thought we would try to get the 6-point cushion. In the worst case, the ball would be at the 20. But we broke down on the snap, and they got good field position out of it.

"It was my decision all the way. But the boys fought hard. This is what a crosstown rivalry should be, with all the hitting and the way it was up-and-down both ways."

After the block, North marched 63 yards to the go-ahead touchdown, again behind the passing of Corrigan, who finished 14-of-20 for 178 yards. Davis set up the TD with a 14-yard catch to the 4 and scored from there with 7:50 left.

Central then faced a fourth-and-2 at its 47 and opted to punt. On North's first play from scrimmage, Bibbs broke a 77-yard draw play from shotgun formation for a 28-17 lead. After all that passing in the second half, "We apprently decided they were going to throw on first down," Jackson said. "We will get that straightened out."

Meanwhile, the Tigers are feeling a whole lot better than they were a year ago, when they were 0-3 after dropping a 16-14 decision to Central.