Northampton holds off Catty 22-17

FROM KEITH GROLLER

It was cold, it was snowy, and it was messy.

But it was a lot of fun, too.

Nothing but pride was on the line Thursday morning at Catty's Alumni Field, but the Konkrete Kids and Rough Riders put on a good show for their 88th football meeting.

Both teams had to overcome poor field conditions created by two inches of snow, as well as each other.

In the end, John Lambert's third touchdown of the game --an 11-yard scamper with 9:59 left -- was the difference in a 22-17 Northampton victory.

Lambert was named Northampton's MVP and received the award from Frantz Trophies.

It was the K-Kids' eighth straight win in the series, but it was the closest of the eight wins.

Northampton led 15-0 less than five minutes into it, getting a 63-yard TD run by Lambert and a 1-yard run from the senior that was set up a 15-yard penalty against Catty and a 33-yard pass from Patrick Cook to Jordan Smith.

But Catty came right back on a 85-yard kickoff return by Sa'Quon Burton, who was named the Roughies' MVP.

They eventually tied the game at 15 in the third quarter on Burton's option pass to Kyle Nyce to cap a brief, two--play drive set up by a Northampton recovery.

Northampton, hurt by three turnovers, was turned away on fourth down at the Catty 16.

However, the K-Kids got the game-winning drive started at midfield with 3:24 left in the third quarter.

Lambert, who had 94 yards rushing, started up the middle, but then raced around the left edge for the game-winning touchdown.

Catty, though, came back and closed within five on a safety. The Roughies, finishing 6-6, had two fourth-quarter possessions end deep in Northampton territory and had a fumble recovered by Lambert with just over a minute left.

Northampton, which finished 5-6, now leads the all-time series 54-30-4.

"This one came down to heart and both teams had a lot of it," Northampton coach Bob Steckel said. "This is how this game should be, a real nail-biter because both schools have a great bunch of kids. Both teams played their butts off. Our guys fought from the first snap to the last one and fortunately, they came out with a win."

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/