Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Northridge High School Jaguars Sports (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)

FootballSports

Jags take down Brookwood for first 2026 region win, 45-19

Michael Clements

The Northridge Jaguars made a short drive to Brookwood on Friday and returned home with a convincing 45-19 win over their AHSAA Class 5A region 3 foe, the Brookwood Panthers. The Jags got on the board first, but had the Panthers tie the game at 7-7. After that, the Jags pulled away and kept the Panthers in the rearview mirror, eventually walking away with a comfortable 26-point victory for their first region win of the young 2026 season.

9-11-2026 — Brookwood, Ala. — Northridge’s Jaden Wright (6) and Devin Brown (7) escort Trindon Henderson on a scoop-and-score during the Jaguars’ win over the Brookwood Panthers.

The Panthers won the toss and elected to receive the opening kick and were working their way down the field, until a backward lateral was left on the ground and Trindon Henderson scooped it up and raced to the end zone. Hicks Finison added the extra point and the Jags claimed a 7-0 lead with 8:50 to go in the first quarter.

Brookwood went back to work after the ensuing kick and scored with 6:36 to go in the first quarter. The PAT knotted the score at 7-7.

The first quarter ended with Northridge driving. With only five seconds gone in the second quarter, Da’marcus Wilder punched it in from 3-yards out. Finison’s PAT gave the Jags a 14-0 lead with 11:55 to go in the first half.

9-11-2026 — Brookwood, Ala. — Northridge’s Jaden Wright (6) takes down a ball carrier as Jackson Pilsch (13) closes in during the Jaguars win over the Brookwood Panthers.

The Jag defense forced a punt on the Panthers’ ensuing possession. A couple plays in, Max Bruinton hit Tate Espey on a short route and Espey weaved through traffic and broke free for a 72-yard touchdown scamper. The PAT gave the Jags a 21-7 lead with 6:46 to go in the second quarter.

Brookwood’s next possession ended with a Julian Crenshaw 15-yard scoop-and-score when a Brookwood receiver fumbled a completed pass and Crenshaw picked the ball up on a bounce and headed to the end zone. Another Finison PAT gave Northridge its largest lead of the night, so far, at 28-7 with 5:50 to go in the second quarter.

The Panthers answered at the 3:15 mark of the second quarter with a short touchdown pass. The PAT was blocked leaving the Jags holding a 28-13 lead.

9-11-2026 — Brookwood, Ala. — Northridge’s Jaden Wright (6) picks off a pass in the end zone during the Jaguars win over the Brookwood Panthers.

Brookwood recovered an onside kick and was looking to score. However, Jaden Wright snatched snatched his third interception of the year when he picked off a Panther pass in the end zone with 1:45 to go in the half. The interception preserved the 28-13 lead for Northridge, as the halftime horn sounded.

The Jags picked up where they left off in the first half, when Wilder scored on his second short touchdown run of the night. The 4-yarder and Finison’s PAT gave the Jags a 22-point lead with 8:39 to go in the third quarter.

9-11-2026 — Brookwood, Ala. — Northridge’s Da’marcus Wilder makes a cut away from a defender during the Jaguars win over the Brookwood Panthers.

The Panthers got back on the board, for the last time, on a short touchdown run with 7:05 to go in the third quarter. The PAT failed, resulting in a 35-19 lead for Northridge.

The final touchdown of the night came at the 11:19 mark of the fourth quarter when Bruinton hit Demeriyan Cotton for a 64-yard touchdown. Finison stretched the Northridge lead to 42-19, 41 seconds into the final stanza.

9-11-2026 — Brookwood, Ala. — Northridge’s Julian Crenshaw attempts to fend off a tackler during the Jaguars win over the Brookwood Panthers.

The final score of the night came on a 40 yard field goal from Finison. That kick put the Jags up 45-19, which was the final score.

Bruinton connected on 11 of 15 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns. In addition to his scoop and score, Crenshaw totaled 92 yards rushing on 12 carries. Wilder ended the game with five carries for 25 yards, including two touchdowns. Semaje Rainey had 11 yards on six carries. Two other Jag ball carriers netted -7 yards, for a rushing total of 121 yards for Northridge. Cotton hauled in seven passes for 127 yards and one touchdown. Espey caught two passes for 109 yards and one touchdown. Austin Posey totaled two receptions and 27 yards.

9-11-2026 — Brookwood, Ala. — Northridge’s Christian McLaurin wraps up Brookwood’s quarterback for a sack during the Jaguars win over the Panthers.

Defensive stats were unavailable at the time of this story.

The Jags (2-2, 1-1) will be faced with possibly their toughest test of the season on Friday, as they travel down Highway 69 to Hillcrest (4-0, 2-0) to take on the undefeated Patriots, who are in first place in Class 5A Region 3.