High School Football: Gainesville Hangs On To Defeat North Marion, 22-21

After starting the football game with a number of miscues and turnover on downs offensively, both Gainesville High School and North Marion had to rely on their second half play. Friday night, it was the Hurricanes that hit landfall at Citizen’s Field to earn a 22-21 win over the Colts.

North Marion came into Gainesville holding on to the eighth spot in the Class 5A rankings. Quarterback KJ Minter was a game manager for the Colts. He finished the night off by completing 14-out of-20 passes for a total of 173 yards. Minter’s main target, Jordyn Riley, contributed to the Colts’ game-plan in a very big way.

Riley was responsible for receiving a 20-yard touchdown pass and grabbing two interceptions on defense–one of those interceptions led to a 42-yard touchdown and gave North Marion a 7-3 lead.

Despite the turnovers and penalties, Gainesville found some momentum, late in the game, to give their offense the energy it needed.

Dustin Johnson started at quarterback over sophomore Luke Matthews. Offensively they executed in the air and on the ground, but it was a 54-yard touchdown pass to Isiah Wilson that will stick out to fans as the highlight of the game.

On the ground, Gainesville got it done with Willie McKnight. The running back racked up 135 of the team’s 233 rushing yards and was responsible for the first Hurricane’s touchdown.

In the end, this game makes both teams have a record of 2-2 and Gainesville got its first win over North Marion since 2008.

UP NEXT: Gainesville takes on another Marion County opponent in Vanguard.  North Marion takes another trip to Gainesville go head-to-head against Eastside.