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Northgate survives sloppy yet sensational affair against Serra Catholic

 
Tagged under: District 7, Game Photos-Videos, Gameday Hub, pfn

| September 5, 2026

                                                                    Flames score in final seconds to squeak past Eagles

If the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” was ever used to describe a football game, the 13-6 win for the Northgate Flames over the Serra Catholic Eagles on Friday night at Alumni Field would be that game.

While the box score may not have shown many points, this game had everything else. Turnovers, penalties, and big-time plays from both teams created tons of drama from start to finish.

The entire Northgate coaching staff and roster know that their overall performance was not up to par. But coming away with such an adversity-filled victory shows growth and maturity in ways that head coach Chris Lucas hasn’t seen much of in his time on the Flames coaching staff.

“I can’t even put into words how proud I am of these kids,” Lucas emphasized. “Their backs were against the wall how many times? And they rose to the occasion.”

Lucas was specifically talking about his defense, which was gassed at times late in the first half and into the second half, but kept finding ways to get off the field without allowing points. One of the biggest plays of the game was a turnover forced by the Flames at their own 1-yard line by 2029 S/RB Jah’Sye Helms, which prevented a near game-tying touchdown after a near-great two-minute drill by the Eagles at the very end of the first half.

Although no points came on that drive to end the first half, Serra Catholic rode their offensive momentum into the second half, gaining newfound traction at the line of scrimmage. They dominated time of possession and maintained great field position in Northgate territory throughout most of the third quarter.

Despite that, Northgate’s defense kept the game tied at six going into the fourth quarter. “In the past seven years, we haven’t done stuff like that on defense,” Lucas said. “When teams got inside the five or 10-yard line against us, they scored. We didn’t have that mentality to buckle down, and these kids are doing it!”

It was Northgate, however, who had at least three strong opportunities to score offensively and create a decent lead in the first half but could not execute, keeping the Eagles within striking distance.

The opening drive for Northgate had momentum but was stalled when 2029 WR/DB Cordarrell Rogers made the first of his few big plays for the Eagles on the night by intercepting Northgate 2027 QB/LB DJ Smith. Smith hustled and pushed Rogers out of bounds before he could break free to the end zone for a pick-six.

“I think some of our guys started to think a little too highly [about themselves after last week’s win],” Lucas said. “Serra gave us everything they had; it was a battle. It was a good wake-up call. We made mistakes ourselves that put us in a hole.” Serra Catholic’s first drive would go three-and-out despite strong field position, as their offense didn’t get much going for most of the first half.

Despite two interceptions from Smith on the night, he was an absolute workhorse on the ground as the Flames’ leading rusher with 20+ carries, and made multiple completions in tight coverage. The quarterback power was the go-to play for an offense that gained a lot on the ground, with Smith regularly gaining four to five yards or more per play.

“The kid is tough as nails,” Lucas said. “Not a lot of quarterbacks play linebacker [and run as much as he does]. He came up clutch, and that’s what big-time quarterbacks do, and that’s what he is.” Northgate would get on the board in the middle of the second quarter with a 4-yard rushing touchdown on a quarterback keeper from Smith to cap off a six-play, 47-yard drive.

On the ensuing drive for the Eagles, 2028 lineman Romaro Clark strip-sacked Serra Catholic freshman QB Braden Hill, with the fumble being recovered and returned to the 7-yard line by 2028 lineman Braylon Mosley. But the Northgate offense couldn’t cash in a touchdown, and a high snap on a 25-yard field goal attempt prevented the kick from getting off, resulting in no points.

The biggest factor for the Serra Catholic defense was 6’4″, 240-lb EDGE Micah Martin, who caused havoc in the Northgate backfield all night. He brought down DJ Smith for a loss of yardage, setting up a more difficult 3rd-and-goal that ultimately led to the stop.

“That 55 [Martin’s number] they got is a big-time player,” Lucas said. “He’s tall, strong, fast, and physical; he gave us a lot of fits.”

A big-time kickoff return of 56 yards from freshman WR/DB Tyree Green immediately after halftime set up what could have been a big third quarter for the Serra Catholic offense. But after a penalty and an incompletion, Hill lobbed an uncontested interception in the end zone on 3rd-and-10 for Northgate 2027 WR/FS Johrdon Hairston.

But after a 3-and-out from the Northgate offense, Serra Catholic would get back to their run game and march down the field. On a 4th-and-7 at the Flames’ 12-yard line, a pass from Hill intended for Cordarrell Rogers in the end zone fell incomplete but looked like a blatant defensive pass interference against Northgate.

While a flag was thrown, the call was defensive holding. Instead of a new set of downs for a pass interference penalty, the holding penalty moved the ball half the distance to the goal, setting up a 4th-and-2. Johrdon Hairston then forced another turnover, as he flew into the backfield and knocked the ball loose from 2028 RB/SS Marcus Holt.

But another 3-and-out for the Northgate offense gave their defense no time to breathe. On the first play of the ensuing Eagles drive, Cordarrell Rogers would make a leaping contested catch over Johrdon Hairston for a 35-yard touchdown catch.

However, a costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Serra Catholic after the play would have prevented them from taking the lead, as it set up a long 35-yard extra-point attempt by Nathan Loughner, which went wide left.

The Northgate offense would get going again after stalling throughout the third quarter, mounting a long drive that reached the Serra Catholic 5-yard line, but two holding penalties against the Flames would lead to a turnover on downs.

Northgate would get the ball back at midfield after an interception ended a Serra Catholic drive across midfield. But this was only the first of three interceptions between the teams in the final two minutes.

DJ Smith would find his top target on the night, Samir King, for a 15-yard gain to get the Flames back in business for a potential go-ahead score. But Smith’s next pass, intended for the back shoulder of Johrdon Hairston, would be undercut and intercepted by freshman cornerback Jaden Patton.

All signs pointed to overtime, but after a penalty against the Eagles on their first snap of the ensuing drive and a timeout called by the Flames after a loss of yards on second down, they were one stop away from getting one more chance to score. Not only did they get a stop, but they also got a gift.

Instead of running the ball and forcing another timeout on a 3rd-and-14, Serra Catholic elected to throw. Another deep pass from Hill was read like a book by Johrdon Hairston for an easy interception and a big return from the Northgate 40-yard line to the 11-yard line with 1:09 remaining.

As the clock wound down, Smith would roll out right and find Samir King at the 3-yard line out wide on 2nd-and-10, in which King would make 2 defenders miss and plunge his way into the end zone with 13-seconds left.

“I didn’t even know it was a pass play,” King said about the play after the game. “When I turned around, I knew the ball was coming to me, and I knew I had to score.”

 The Flames started 2-0 for the first time since that magical 2016 season, the last time Northgate made the playoffs and advanced to the WPIAL semifinal. But they know that to come close to the heights of that team, they’ll have a lot to clean up moving forward.

“We’ve got to get back to what got us here all offseason,” Lucas said. “We have to get back to that underdog mentality.”

Northgate (2-0, 0-0) will visit Brentwood (0-2, 0-0) next Friday night in another non-conference matchup before conference play begins.

 

 
 
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