Win No. 2 had been a long time coming for the McIntosh Chiefs, who finally grabbed it Friday, handing the Northgate Vikings their seventh consecutive loss, 14-11 in a Region 2-AAAA game on homecoming night in Peachtree City.

An early goal-line stand set the tone for the Chiefs (2-6, 1-5 in the region).

Northgate’s Derrick Brisbane returned the opening kickoff 80 yards and a face-mask penalty on the same play set the Vikings (1-7, 0-6) up for first-and-goal from the 9-yard line.

The Vikings were poised to score, but McIntosh’s defense, led by defensive lineman Matt Miller, stopped Northgate on four plays to turn the ball over on downs.

McIntosh’s offense came on the field and put together a seven-play, 99-yard drive that culminated with Nick Popeil (19 carries, 160 yards) scoring on a 23-yard run.

Northgate responded with a 20-yard field goal by Casey Vaughn.

McIntosh came right back, going on a 10-play, 65-yard drive that concluded with Bradley Larson scoring on a 5-yard run on fourth-and-1 with 8:45 remaining in the second quarter.

Chiefs coach Dwight Jones went into his bag of tricks to keep the drive alive, calling for a fake punt that McIntosh executed to perfection.

Quarterback Jake Copeland’s 1-yard touchdown run capped an 18-play, 79-yard drive and his pass to Joey Poropatic for the two-point conversion cut McIntosh’s lead to 14-11 with 2:56 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Northgate attempted to get the ball back with an onside kick, but McIntosh recovered to essentially end the game.

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