Northern Guilford topped Gastonia Ashbrook 39-14 on this Friday night, at Johnny Roscoe Stadium, and the score was NG up 39-0 at the half, and we saw the running clock take over at the beginning of the second half…Now Northern at (12-1) heads up to Boone next Friday night to face Watauga(13-0) for the NCHSAA 6-A West Regional Championship…
Northern just finished off an Unbeaten Ashbrook squad under the light of a half-moon, and by halftime of this NG-Ashbrook game, for all intents and purposes, this game was over and out, and LOOOOOOOOONG GONE…..
Northern Guilford played offense like their hair was on fire, on a very cold night…They just wasted no time and led the Greenwave from Gastonia, 24-0, at the end of the First Quarter, and then the Nighthawks moved on top, 39-0, at Halftime…This was one of those near-perfect first halves of football for the NG Nighthawks…
The ‘Hawks came out running and they came out passing too, and they played defense like they were taking candy from the helpless, and they were taking the candy like it was Christmas Morning on Spencer Dixon Road…
Happy Holidays from the Northern Guilford Nighthawks who came up with a newly sworn motto of, “It is Better to Take, than to Receive”…
Look at these key takeaways with almost all of them coming in the first 24 minutes of the contest, and before halftime, Northern had Four Interceptions, A Forced Fumble, and A Fumble Recovery…That is some kind of take-what- they-give-you, right there…
Lucas Hilliard with two picks/interceptions, and he took one back for a Touchdown, but that was called back due to a penalty, but NG still got points off of that turnover, when Kobe Guardado booted his 31-yard field goal, and at the time, the FG put NG up, 10-0…Also there were easy pickings/interceptions for Bobby Bah and Sloan Littleton, and there was the Forced Fumble caused by Rimeeh Mack, and the ensuing Fumble Recovery by Noah Smith…
If I remember them correctly, Bah’s pick came when he hauled in a pass that he deflected, and he just stayed with it and made the key takeaway/pick…Littleton grabbed his loose ball/interception and took off running until he got tripped up by the Purple Yard-marker on the Johnny Roscoe Stadium field…
Those five boys were proving that it is really better to “Take instead of Receive”, while you are playing playoff football…And that was one of the most dominating halves of high school football playoff action, that I have every seen/witnessed…Man, Northern was in control, and it was all happening soooooo fast…You looked up and the night was nearly LOOOOOOOOONG GONE….
Again, NG up 24-0 at the end of the First Quarter, NG up 39-0 at halftime, NG still leading by 39-8, at the end of the Third Quarter, and then you had the FINAL SCORE of, NG 39, Gastonia Ashbrook 14…..
That first half was as complete of an high school football game, that I have ever seen….Northern Guilford Nighthawks with that half moon shining bright, taking this game by the horns, and laying the Greenwave to rest, by halftime tonight…
Northern Guilford girls basketball coach Josh Evans said it best possibly, when commented on the GreensboroSports Radio broadcast, that this Northern Guilford Football Team was clicking….This guys really were, and they were just flat out running/clicking on all cylinders…Coach Evans also noted the physicality of the Northern players, and that was duly noted for guys like Noah Smith and Rimeeh Mack, and Coach Evans was spot on with his remarks…
Northern Guilford really took it to Gastonia Ashbrook, but it was Northern that got the football first in this game, after Ashbrook won the Opening of the Game Coin Toss, and the Greenwave deferred and decided to take the ball first in the second half…
So NG gets the ball to start this contest, and what did the Nighthawks actually do on their opening drive of the contest??? A couple of key first downs, from returning running back Amare Akers, and then the NG QB Jaxson Kemp hits WR CJ Morrison for a 54-yard Touchdown Pass play, and it came very early, with 10:41 to play in the First Quarter…TD for CJ, and the PAT Kick by Kobe Guardado was GOOD…Score goes NG 7, GA 0…
I told Coach Josh Evans early in our game, that Morrison and Greyson Council were playing like CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens had played for the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, versus the Kansas City Chiefs…Watching Morrison and Council haul in those passes, was like watching Pickens and Lamb go to work catching the Dax Prescott strikes…And Coach Evans pointed out, that NG QB Jaxson Kemp was hitting on nearly all of his passes, early in this football game…Pickens, Lamb, and Prescott….Morrison, Council, and Kemp….Some pretty good connections making it happen right there, brothers and sisters…Almost like a Holy Grail…
So, we had that Big Strike for the first score of the game, and then what came next??? I am glad you asked cause here we go, with the TD Tally, with a nice Field Goal thrown in here for good measure…
We gave the first hookup, with Kemp to Morrison…Then NG got the first of their two Lucas Hilliard interceptions, and he did take it back all the way, but there was the illegal blocking penalty on the return, and NG settled for a very nice Field Goal, from junior placekicker Kobe Guardado…No problem from ‘Kobe the Kicker’, as he nails the 31-yarder to give NG their 10-0 lead….8:36 to play in the First Quarter, and Northern turns the Turnover into Points…NG 10, GA 0
Then we saw Northern hit the ground game, with a 36-yard run Touchdown Run from QB Jaxson Kemp…Kemp up the gut and LOOOOOOOOOOONG GONE….Kemp’s jaunt came with 1:12 left to go in Quarter Number One, and we a have brand new score for you, NG 17, GA 0…
And get this, the First Quarter isn’t even over yet….Here comes, or should we really say, there goes Amare Akers with his 10-yard TD run, and good see Amare back in the Promised Land, after missing last week’s game…Akers first TD run of the night, came with 39.5 seconds left to play in the First Quarter, and new score rolls, NG 24, GA 0…
End of First Quarter:Northern Guilford 24, Gastonia Ashbrook 0
In the second quarter, Jaxson Kemp was able to set up more running TDs for the Nighthawks by using his pass play prowess with key connects to Council and Morrison…Need more of Morrison and Council, and just can’t get enough of those two young men going wideout left and right…I told Coach Evans one time there in the game, that after a Kemp completion to Morrison, that he was would be coming right back to Council on the next play, and I did not know that for sure, but it sure looked good, or maybe sounded good, when Kemp did just what I had just said…Right to Council on a nice inside slant route for five more key yards and a big First Down….
So, was Akers done after his 10-yard TD run??? No sir….He did it again, and he took the longer way home, as Akers goes in to score from 13 yards out, and with the Kobe the Kicker’s perfect boot on the PAT kick, we are on the way to First Half royalty, with the updated score coming in at, NG 31, GA 0 The second TD run of the game from Akers came with 10:20 to play in Second Quarter, and again we sit with Northern up, 31-0…
Last Score of the half for Northern, and the last score of the game for Northern, comes on another running play with this time, it being backup RB Christian Leach getting in on the action….With 2:13 left in the first half Leach will teach his man not to reach, as Leach will preach like a Georgia Peach, and slide onto the paydirt of the end zone from just one yard away, and he will make the Greenwave pay dearly, with the 1-yard Touchdown Tally, and on the conversion, it is a Trick, and NG throws quick to Greyson Council in the right part of the end zone, and he makes the Two-Point Conversion Pass Play stand up….It was like NG caught Gastonia Ashbrook totally off-guard, and NG never even swung over the blocking gate, to set up the snapper and blockers for the Extra Point Kick Attempt…The pass to Council was good all the way, and it was Perfect…So, we have our new score and our final score on the night for the Northern Guilford Nighthawks…NG 39, GA 0
And that makes our halftime score:Northern Guilford 39, Gastonia Ashbrook 0
The Second Half scoring went the way of the Greenwave, with Gastonia Ashbrook switching quarterbacks, and it seemed to give them a bit of a spark…Ashbrook sat down their starter, the “Fleet of Feet” AJ McClain, and brought in the left-handed thrower/passer Timothy Armstrong…Armstrong lived up to his name, and the kid did have a strong arm…So Armstrong finds his receiver Riley Hicks open, and Hicks does the rest, after hauling in the pass, Hicks goes for the 59-yard TD score, and Armstrong keeps the passing game going, as he hits WR Braylon Smith with a sweet pass for the Two-Point Conversion…2:47 remaining in the Third Quarter, and Gastonia Ashbrook is right back in this game, no not really, but the Greenwave did break up the nice NG Nighthawks shutout, and everybody loves a nice shutout…But when it is gone it is time to move on, and that will take us to the End of the Third Quarter with our score, Northern Guilford 39, Gastonia Ashbrook 8…..
Our final was almost in the books, and with the running clock, this game is fast leaving us…NG up by 35 points or more at halftime, and that clock keeps running non-stop in the second half, with the exception of called Timeouts…And Gastonia Ashbrook is going to use all of their time left available…So we see Timothy Armstrong, the lofty lefty QB from GA moving his Greenwave down the field, and they are almost out of time…But Armstrong has one short pass left in his left arm, and he connects with Cayden Montgomery-Ross on a 4-yard toss for our final score/touchdown of the game…This TD came with just 12.6 left in our ballgame, and with the running clock, running non-stop, the clock ran out before Ashbrook could get off the Two-Point Play…
Game Over, and the game goes to the Good Guys, the Northern Guilford Nighthawks…
Final Score from Friday Night November 28, 2025:Northern Guilford Nighthawks 39, Gastonia Ashbrook Greenwave 14
NG(12-1)/GA(12-1)
Northern Guilford(12-1) will travel to Boone, next Friday night, to face the Watauga Pioneers(13-0) for the NCHSAA 6-A West Regional Championship…Feeling a game time of 7:30pm….
From this Friday’s Game and on the word from Coach Josh Evans….
Northern Guilford RE/MAX Revolution Offensive Player of the Game:QB Jaxson Kemp
Northern Guilford RE/MAX Revolution Defensive Player of the Game:Noah Smith
Northern with 4 rushing TDs, and 2 from Amare Akers, and one each, from Jaxson Kemp and Christian Leach…
TD pass with Kemp to CJ Morrison…FG from Kobe Guardado, and Two-Point Conversion Reception for Greyson Council….
A Great Game and now have a Great Weekend, and Best of Luck to the Northern Guilford Nighthawks(12-1) and the Grimsley Whirlies(13-0), as they both go for West Regional Titles next Friday night….
That’s The Finish to “The Finish”, and MORE on the way, next time around….