North Paulding Narrowly Avoids Upset

barely escaped upset Friday night against Alexander in their home opener. With just five seconds to go in the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack were down by one point, when quarterback Zach Cummins flipped a quick 33-yard pass to wide receiver Joel Brooks in the end zone.

In last year's contest, North Paulding crushed Alexander, 51-3, but this season, the Cougars proved to be stiff competition, matching the Wolfpack almost point-for-point before taking the lead in the fourth quarter. 

North Paulding got the scoring duel started with Joel Brooks scoring the first touchdown just under five minutes into the game.  Alexander countered just three minutes later, but North Paulding would not be deterred and Brooks would score again for the Wolfpack before the first quarter expired. 

The second quarter featured a field goal kicked by the quarterback, Zach Cummins, and another touchdown from Alexander.  North Paulding held the lead at halftime, 14-17.

The Wolfpack came out strong in the second half, with wide receiver Marcus Anderson scoring early in the third quarter.  Taking their momentum into the fourth quarter, North Paulding running back Cornelius Collins carried the ball in from three yards out with 9:29 remaining in the game.  Alexander rallied, scoring two touchdowns and then intercepting a misread pass by North Paulding that would ultimately lead to a third score of the quarter with just 1:13 left in the game.  The Cougars would have the lead, 35-34, with just a minute to go before Cummins would throw the 33-yard pass that led to victory.

North Paulding ultimately defeated Alexander with a final score of 40-35.  The Wolfpack's season record now stands at 1-1.