Northmor tight end Cameron Goldbach outruns the Upper Sandusky defense on his way to a 50-yard scoring reception on Friday.
Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel
As Northmor football coach Scott Armrose noted after his team’s opening week 48-14 win over visiting Upper Sandusky, the first week of a new football season can be a very stressful time for coaches due to a simple lack of knowledge.
“Week one, you never know what you’re going to get,” he said. “Special teams are live for the first time, you only have scrimmage film to watch. It’s a nerve-racking week for a football coach because you like to pore into the film and see what you’re going to get. There’s a lot of question marks in week one and that’s why our focus was just on us. Not on Upper, not what they do, but what we do and getting better at it.”
Armrose’s team did their best to alleviate any anxiety he might have had heading into Friday night, though. The Golden Knights put up three touchdowns in the opening 12 minutes and followed up that performance with three more in the second quarter to take a 41-0 lead into the half.
Big plays were key to the team’s success. On their first drive, after four plays netted a total of 20 yards, quarterback A.J. Bower hit Jaxson Wenger with a pass that the senior receiver took 60 yards for the first score of the game. Bower hit his first of six extra point kicks in seven tries and Northmor held a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest.
Northmor then forced a quick punt and wasted no time in putting more points on the board. After two Cowin Becker runs gave the team 15 yards, Bower connected with Cameron Goldbach for a 50-yard score to make it a 14-0 game with 7:37 still on the first quarter clock.
While Upper would be able to get first downs on their next two drives, they wouldn’t be able to light up the scoreboard. Late in the first, Northmor would do so for the third time in the quarter, as Carson Campbell took a handoff 37 yards to make it a 21-0 game.
“We executed well,” said Armrose. “All week long, our plan was to focus on us and improve what we do from the Wynford scrimmage until now and we did that. We focused on us, we executed well and you get that start that we did and that helps.”
On their next drive, it looked like Upper might have something going, as they drove the ball from their 15 to the Northmor 48 in seven plays. However, the Golden Knight defense would get in on the scoring action as Wenger picked off a Josh Heilman pass and ran it back 69 yards to the end zone.
An Upper punt on their next drive set up Northmor on the 50, from where it only took two plays to add to their lead. After Bower connected with Bo Landin for a 37-yard catch, he passed the ball to Becker, who took it the remaining 13 yards to put Northmor in front 34-0.
The Golden Knight defense maintained their shutout through the remainder of the half, although it wasn’t easy. Upper Sandusky held the ball for 15 plays and moved it from their 29 to the Northmor 17 before turning the ball over on downs with 41 seconds left in the half.
“We’re a ‘bend, but don’t break’ defense,” said Armrose. “We make other teams drive the football on us. That’s the way we play. We give up the underneath stuff and make good tackles and I thought they executed well tonight as well.”
Making things even better for Northmor: those 41 seconds were more than enough for the team’s offense to increase the team’s point total to 41 before the half. Back-to-back deep passes from Bower to Landin netted Northmor 72 yards down to the Upper three. Campbell then recorded his second touchdown of the night to make it a 41-0 game.
Playing under a running clock throughout the second half, Upper got a pair of touchdowns, but Northmor got a second score by Becker on a 19-yard run to wind up on top by 34 points.
After the game, Armrose noted that his team has a lot of weapons on offense — many of whom played have played together for a long time. While Bower and Wenger both earned All-Ohio recognition last year and Landin also played a huge role in the passing game, the coach noted that a lot more guys have the ability to put together big plays and games.
“And it’s not just those guys,” he said. “Our tight end, Cam Goldbach, making a big play. Cowin Becker finding the end zone. Carson Campbell finding the end zone and our offensive line blocked very well tonight. This group of 15 seniors we have this year have been playing together a long time. They’re a close group and they did a great job tonight. I’m proud of those guys and the rest of the team.”
In the game, Bower hit on 10-of-13 passes for 322 yards, with Landon catching four passes for 160 yards and Wenger (76 yards), Goldbach (62) and Becker (24) all receiving two passes. Campbell added 57 yards on the ground, while Becker ran for 52.
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS
