Austin Hannah, Contributor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
McDERMOTT — There might not be anything flashy about Northwest, but who cares? The Mohawks keep winning.
Northwest has a formidable running game and an opportunistic defense. The defense creates turnovers and the offense turns them into points.
By all accounts, that’s a recipe for success.
Those two elements were on full display on Friday as the Mohawks opened SOC I play by making a huge statement, running away from Notre Dame and sealing a 48-18 victory.
“It was a great night. In the preseason, [Notre Dame] was the favorite to be the conference champion,” Northwest coach Bill Crabtree said. “We focused hard all week. [ND] has some athletes that had us a bit nervous. But at the end of the day, our guys rose to the occasion. And it’s great to see our seniors coming in and fighting like this with the conference on the line.”
Northwest (4-2, 1-0 SOC I) put the ball in the hands of running back Wyatt Brackman and he did the rest.
Brackman reeled off multiple big-gain runs on the Mohawks’ first drive, paving the way for Kory Butler to find the end zone on a four-yard rush to put Northwest ahead 7-0 early.
Notre Dame (2-4, 0-1 SOC I) wasted no time providing an answer on its first possession as a long pass from Wyatt Webb to Dylan Seison took the Titans’ offense near the end zone. Webb then called his own number, scoring from four yards out and cutting the deficit to 7-6 — after a blocked PAT — at the end of the first quarter.
PHOTOS: Images from Northwest’s win over Notre Dame
It was all Brackman in the second frame as he opened the quarter with a two-yard score that extended the lead to 14-6. Then, after forcing a three-and-out, the Mohawks began a slow, methodical drive, picking up multiple third down conversions and moving the chains on aa fourth down attempt as well.
The drive ended with a three-yard touchdown from Brackman to make it a 21-6 tally at halftime.
“The offensive line has been working hard. Thanks goes to the line tonight. They did a really good job,” Brackman said. “The whole team stayed together. We just fought through it.”
Not going down without a fight, the Titans received the second half’s opening kick and drove down the field to regain steam. The drive was capped by a five-yard touchdown run from Webb, his second of the game, to trim the lead to 21-12.
However, just when it seemed that Notre Dame was gaining momentum and applying pressure, the Mohawks had an immediate answer. Shane Miller took the ensuing kickoff 80 yards into the end zone for the score, pushing the lead back to 15 points at 27-12.
But again, the Titans weren’t ready to throw in the towel.
On a 4th and 1 play from the Mohawk 29, Gavin Hart took a handoff, found the outside angle and ran down the sideline for a score to make it a 27-18 ballgame heading into the fourth.
After a third quarter that featured offensive success for both teams, Northwest was determined to finish off Notre Dame for good in the fourth. Brackman was one of the main reasons that happened. He found the end zone from five yards out, his third touchdown of the night, for a 34-18 score.
On Notre Dame’s next possession, a high snap on a punt attempt set up the Mohawks with great field position. The drive, which started at ND’s 21-yard line, took all the win out of the Titans’ sails.
Two plays later, Tanner Bolin found Connor Lintz for an 18-yard passing touchdown, making it a 41-18 tally before Lintz intercepted his second pass of the game on the Titans’ next drive, which set up Butler’s second touchdown of the night to seal the deal.
“Last week [a win over Valley] was our biggest rivalry week,” Lintz said. “But coach told us that even though we beat Valley, we couldn’t lay down now. We have to treat every game like it’s [against] Valley. Our defense was a little shaky at times tonight but we battled through it and came away with the dub.”
Northwest will look to keep its winning ways going at East next week while Notre Dame looks to rebound, hosting Green.
“This is a big momentum swing for us,” Lintz said. “Notre Dame is probably the [best team] left on our schedule. So getting them knocked off, I feel like, helps us let the other teams know we’re coming for them.”
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