Chiefs beat Lions in first round

KILLEN — Facing a touchdown deficit after three first-half turnovers, North Jackson coach Shawn Peek still liked his team's chances at Brooks.

Thanks in part to a tremendous third quarter Friday night by speedster Denzel Bynum, the Chiefs proved their coach right.

Bynum scored two touchdowns, including a momentum-seizing 83-yard kickoff return, and had an interception on defense to set up another score to lead Class 4A Region 7 third-seeded North Jackson (8-3) to a 36-19 first-round playoff win over Region 8 No. 2 seed Brooks (8-3).

“That's what you call a big-time game-changer,” Brooks coach Jerry Hill said of the kickoff return. “That was a great play.”

It was the third straight game in which Bynum has returned a kickoff for a touchdown and intercepted a pass. His return with 3 minutes, 50 seconds left in the third quarter Friday countered Brooks' last touchdown drive and gave North Jackson a permanent lead at 21-19.

Eight seconds later, Bynum intercepted Lions quarterback Alex Mitchell setting up a 57-yard touchdown drive. The Chiefs intercepted Mitchell again on Brooks' next possession, for the third time in the game, and drove 35 yards for their final score. North Jackson added a 2-point conversion to make it a three-possession game with 8:59 to play, and Brooks never scored again.

“As bad as we played in the first half, I told our guys we were going to have to play the best we could in the second and our best would be good enough,” said Peek, whose team trailed 13-7 at halftime. “I just tried to convince them that if we played 24 solid minutes of football, we could get it done.”

Brooks scored in the first half on touchdown drives of 73 and 43 yards. Wide receiver Matthew Scott capped the first on a trick play, taking a lateral pass from Mitchell and finding Austin Hill, who was double covered, in the back of the end zone for a 25-yard pass on third-and-10.

Three possessions later, Scott took a short pass from Mitchell on third-and-24 and broke four tackles during a 40-yard scoring run. The extra point missed wide left, the first of three special teams miscues for Brooks.

On the Lions' first possession of the second half, a botched snap allowed the Chiefs' to sack Brooks punter Michael Poole at his own 30-yard line. Three plays later Bynum took a reverse 14 yards to the end zone setting up a 14-13 North Jackson lead.

Brooks responded with a 75-yard scoring drive capped by a 19-yard pass from Mitchell to Hill. A 2-point conversion failed, preserving a 19-14 deficit for the Chiefs, who answered with Bynum's kickoff return.

“You always stress that in the playoffs it takes all three phases to win,” Jerry Hill said. “We made mistakes on special teams and against a good football team you can't do that. They'll capitalize.”

Brooks mounted a 14-play drive to the North Jackson 15 in the fourth quarter but couldn't score. The Lions also had a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown by offensive lineman Levanter Jarmon called back by an inadvertent whistle.

Mitchell, back after missing a game with a sprained ankle, finished 21-for-39 with 161 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Scott had 98 yards and a touchdown on six catches, while Austin Hill added 60 yards and two scores on five catches. All three played their last high school game Saturday.

“It's a tough pill to swallow,” said Jerry Hill, whose team made its' earliest playoff exit since 2005. “But these seniors still have plenty to be proud of.”

Bryan App can be reached at 740-5730 or bryan.app@TimesDaily.com.