Loss to Norcross Costly for Wildcats

Duluth lost its Region 7-AAAAA opener to crosstown rivals Norcross 35-14 on Friday evening.

The Wildcats also lost dynamic quarterback Anfornee Stewart early in the fourth quarter at Blue Devil Stadium.

The Blue Devils offense got off to a slow start with an uncharacteristic three-and-out in their opening series. Stewart drove the Wildcats down the field with effective passing while running the no-huddle offense efficiently. Duluth looked poised to score, but a muddled run resulted in a fumble which was recovered by Norcross linebacker Tommy Tate. 

The Blue Devils passing game opened up after some gritty running between the tackles by junior Alvin Kamara. As Duluth started to focus on the run, Norcross made the score 7-0 on a 41-yard play-action pass from Joseph Wilber to Jason Croom. Duluth’s next drive stalled after an intentional grounding penalty, and Norcross doubled their lead after a 19-yard scoring run by Kamara.

Duluth’s high-scoring offense averaged more than 41 points per game through its first three games this year, but the Wildcats shot themselves in the foot repeatedly with turnovers. With the Wildcats building momentum, Stewart handed running back Matthew Randle the ball on a well-executed triple option. Defenders converged on Randle once he broke through the line and popped the ball loose, recovering the ball at the Blue Devils' 38.

Wilber pounced on the miscue, finding two-way standout Anthony Autry on a long fade route to put Norcross into scoring position. Wilber then found Croom on a screen for a 17-yard pass for a touchdown, putting Norcross up 21-0 with less than two minutes remaining in the half. 

The Blue Devils took a big hit to their defense when leading tackler Tanner Maloof had to leave the game with a knee injury. 

After Duluth’s third lost fumble of the night, Norcross tried to put up more points before halftime. With 13 seconds left in the half, Wilber faced an all-out blitz and ran backwards before fumbling the ball. Wildcats linebacker Michael Long scooped the ball and ran 40 yards for a momentum-shifting touchdown. Each team had three lost fumbles in the game.

Stewart tried to spark the Wildcats offense with his legs in the third quarter. The senior quarterback called his own number multiple times to drive Duluth down the Norcross 11. However, The Blue Devils defense held its ground and forced a 37-yard field-goal try by Caleb  Starovasnik, which was missed.

A couple plays later Duluth got a gift as Norcross fumbled the ball right back at their own 33. Stewart found wide receiver Lavelle Lawton to get down to the 1 before Henry Enyenhi punched it in to make it 21-14.

Norcross' electric sophomore Myles Autry took the ensuing kick-off for an apparent 92-yard touchdown but it was called back due to a penalty. The Blue Devils ended up scoring a few plays later on a short Kamara run.

The game got chippy with flags all over the field as the game progressed. 

As big as the Maloof loss was to Norcross, Duluth suffered and equal blow as Stewart left with an ankle injury less than 10 minutes to go in the game. He was replaced by freshman Tyler Campbell, who had trouble moving the ball against the aggressive Norcross defense.  

Wildcats fell to 2-2 with the loss. They host 1-3 Collins Hill next.