High school football: Northwest Classen wins, improves to 3-1

As he spoke, the frustration showed through even more.

“I'm happy that we're 1-0 in district,” he said. “But we can't play like that for the rest of the season or we're not gonna do good at all.”

The Knights have won three games in the first four weeks of the football season, their best start since opening 4-1 in 1971. They've already matched their win total of a year ago, which was considered a successful season on many counts.

But Alexander's words reflect the mood of a team no longer satisfied with simply winning a few games a year.

Northwest Classen piled up 497 total yards on just 43 offensive snaps. Alexander had 125 yards and four touchdowns rushing, while Fre'Darian Ashley had 106 yards and Corbin Richardson had 93, each with a touchdown.

But the joy was marred by sloppy play in the first half, primarily on defense, when Western Heights accounted for 264 yards and all 27 of its points.

It could have been worse, but the defense came up with a pair of red zone takeaways — one inside the 1-yard line — to ignite a turnaround.

“The kids started picking up the intensity after that,” Northwest coach Lloyd Smith said. “When we try to play passive and shadow people, we're not going to play well. The second half, our kids came out and played physical and got after it. The game shifted immediately.