Northmor’s Cowin Becker had a big game against Danville on Friday, recording 120 yards and two scores via receptions and 65 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel
A Friday night showdown between two of the early-season KMAC front-runners turned into a mismatch thanks to Northmor utilizing a fast start to run away from Danville in picking up a 41-6 win to improve to 5-0, 2-0 in league play.
The lopsided win came just seven days after the Golden Knights were locked in a tight contest against host Centerburg — a tough battle that Northmor coach Scott Armrose believes helped strengthen his squad.
“That was definitely good for us,” he said about the Centerburg game. “We needed a test like that and Centerburg gave us everything we could handle and, again, we made big plays when we needed to. It was a gut check for us. We needed to be tested, we needed to play four quarters and it was very helpful for us.”
Strong first half play by Northmor insured their home contest with the Blue Devils would not be nearly as suspenseful. The Golden Knights took the kickoff to open the game and it didn’t take too much time for A.J. Bower to hit Bo Landin for a 43-yard touchdown pass. Bower, who hit on 5-of-6 PAT attempts, was successful on this one to make it a 7-0 score just two minutes into the game.
Northmor’s defense wouldn’t be outdone. They forced a quick three-and-out and when the offense turned the ball back over to the Blue Devils at the Golden Knight 47, they were able to hold firm and force their opponents to turn the ball over on downs at their 23.
Big plays continued to work in Northmor’s favor on their next drive After runs by Cowin Becker and Carson Campbell moved the ball to the Golden Knight 36, Bower connected with Landin for 39 yards and then hit Becker for a 25-yard touchdown that made it 13-0.
Northmor would get another defensive three-and-out and immediately struck again to open the second quarter, as Bower went deep to Jax Wenger, who hauled in a pass and turned it into a 66-yard touchdown. Armrose agreed that his team has a lot of big-play potential with multiple athletes who are capable of turning a play into a huge gain.
“That’s what makes us tough to stop,” he said. “Especially since we got Jax back now, so they can’t bracket people on the outside — Bo on the outside — and Cowin still gets lost in the middle because they’re watching our big receivers on the outside. We’ve got a lot of guys who can make big plays and we executed well.”
The coach added that it doesn’t hurt to have an experienced quarterback in three-year starting senior Bower, who knows how to find multiple targets over the course of a game to really spread out opposing defenses.
“Absolutely, and coach (Nate) Hall does a great job game-planning and breaking down film and finding how we’re going to get people open and where they’re going to be open,” he said. “Our offensive line did a great job protecting A.J. tonight. We had a lot of time to sit back there and throw and when he can do that, teams are in trouble.”
Northmor continued to make life miserable for the defending KMAC champions as the second quarter progressed, as Brady Carr then recorded an interception and Bower responded by connecting with Becker for a 63-yard pass play to increase the lead to 27-0 with 8:56 to go in the half.
Late in the period, Bower would strike again, this time hooking up with Wenger for a seven-yard touchdown that brought the lead to 34-0 and ensured the second half would start under a running clock.
To Danville’s credit, they would be able to open the third quarter with a 12-play, 70-yard drive that resulted in points. While the possession took over eight minutes off the clock, the touchdown scored by the Blue Devils brought the Northmor lead to under 30 at 34-6 and took away the running clock.
For a total of 13 seconds of game time. After Northmor recovered Danville’s onside kick attempt at their 47, Becker took a handoff and both evaded and broke Blue Devil tackle attempts in rushing 53 yards to the end zone.
That touchdown made it a 41-6 game with 3:28 left in the third and neither team would score again the rest of the way as the Golden Knights picked up a big league win. While Armrose felt his team earned a statement win against Danville, he added that he would feel the same way about any league win.
“Every game is a statement, especially in the KMAC this season,” he said. “We’re going to get everybody’s best effort on every night and the goal is to continue to get better every week, which we’ve done since the beginning of the season.”
Bower had a huge day at quarterback for Northmor, hitting on 14-of-18 passes for 321 yards and five touchdowns to go with one pick. Becker had five catches for 120 yards and added 65 on the ground, while Wenger (four for 89 yards), Landin (three for 88) and Campbell (two for 24) also had multiple receptions.
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS
