High school football: Blickfeldt leads Syracuse over Northridge in OT

SYRACUSE — For a game that didn't need a hero, Syracuse's T.J. Blickfeldt may as well have been wearing a giant "S" on his chest. His 23-yard run and subsequent two-yard touchdown jaunt gave the Titans a thrilling 22-16 overtime victory over rival Northridge on Friday night.

The touchdown run came after the Syracuse defense held Northridge to a missed 45-yard field goal on its first possession of overtime. Needing only a field goal to win, Syracuse played conservatively, handing the ball to Blickfeldt up the gut. But the senior running back broke a tackle and outraced the secondary to the 2-yard line. On the ensuing play, Blickfeldt finished what he started, going over right tackle and into the end zone.

Paving the way for Blickfeldt and his teammates was an impressive Syracuse offensive line. Inspired by the return of tackle Cameron Galbraith, who only three weeks earlier was told he had a third-degree tear in his right knee, the Syracuse line steamrolled, smashed, and smothered its way to 315 total yards, including 200 yards rushing. Syracuse quarterback Braden Hamblin had plenty of time to look over the Knights' secondary and finished with 115 yards passing and one touchdown pass.

Finding themselves trailing 7-0 after a 15-yard touchdown pass from Hamblin to Tanner Burton, Northridge responded with their own impressive drive to the Titans one-yard line. Poised to score and tie the game Knights quarterback Junior Cole mishandled the snap and fumbled on the one-yard line.

Taking advantage of the turnover, Syracuse marched the ball down the field thanks to several great throws and runs from Tamblin, and although the Titans eventually settled for a 29-yard field goal from Josh Kealamakia, they had wrestled away all momentum before half and left the Knights looking dead.

In the second half, Syracuse showed no signs of letting up on their cross town rivals. Two more Kealamakia field goals left the Titans up 16-0 near the end of the third quarter and thinking about the shutout, by the end of the fourth they would be thinking what happened.

The Knights stormed back to tie the game, thanks to two huge pass plays, a 47-yard pass to Cody Hill and a 54-yard bomb to Chris Washington. Both plays were followed by successful two point conversions to send the game into overtime.

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