KENNESAW - North Cobb got a big boost to its state playoff chances as the Warriors defeated South Cobb 21-16 in a battle of Region 4AAAAA rivals on Friday at Emory Sewell Stadium.

The win snaps North Cobb's three-game losing streak and puts the Warriors (4-5, 3-3) in a tie with South Cobb (6-3, 3-3) for the fourth and final state playoff spot in 4AAAAA.

Xavier Borishade ran and caught a TD in the second quarter to help the Warriors pull away.

However, it was the North Cobb defense that led the way, intercepting South Cobb quarterback Stephon Masha three times and holding Chris Beck to just 34 yards in the second half after the Eagle star running back had amassed 100 yards in the first 24 minutes.

"The defense just did an unbelievable job," North Cobb coach Shane Queen said. "We got interception after interception and we shut down Beck for most of the night. They just played outstanding. They're the reason why we won the football game (on Friday)."

It was an especially sweet win for a North Cobb team that has lost close heartbreakers to Alpharetta and Pebblebrook and was coming off losses to region powerhouses Hillgrove and McEachern.

"We've had a lot of adversity this year," Queen said. "We lost a couple of games at the end, that's the reason why our record is like it is. We lost to Alpharetta early in the season at the end of the game and we lost to Pebblebrook after we had a 14-0 lead. I told our kids just to finish. I'm so proud of our kids, because we had a 3-5 record and lost three in a row and we could have easily packed it in. But, the seniors, we talked to them before (the game). I told them to come out on their home turf and fight. I'm so proud of them. They just kept battling."

South Cobb got on the scoreboard first when Masha threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Gary Jones and Carlos Selvana kicked the extra point to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead with 7:24 remaining in the first quarter.

The Eagles' lead was short lived, however, as North Cobb's James King intercepted a Masha pass and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown. A.J. Bourduin made his extra-point kick to tie the game at 7-all with 5:01 left in the first quarter.

Borishade gave North Cobb a lead it would never relinquish early in the second quarter as he scored on a 3-yard run with 11:23 remaining in the first half and Bourduin made the extra point to put the Warriors up 14-7.

North Cobb got a big break when it recovered a South Cobb fumble on the ensuing kickoff return at the Eagle 44.

The Warriors took only six plays to get in the end zone, with Tyler Queen throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Borishade and Bourduin kicked the extra point with 8:45 left in the first half to increase the lead to 21-7.

South Cobb would cut the gap at the end of the first half, with Selvada kicking a 31-yard field goal with 18.4 seconds left to make it 21-10 at halftime.