FeedsPlymouth halts Northville homecoming hopes
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Northville players hit the field for their homecoming showdown with Plymouth on Friday. Plymouth overcame a 10-point deficit to spoil the night for the Mustangs.It was the win that almost was for the Northville Mustangs.
Northville hosted Plymouth for an eventful homecoming football contest that resulted in a high-scoring, three-hour affair. Plymouth’s Nate Gholston, on an injured ankle, scored three times in a five-minute span in the fourth quarter to spoil homecoming for the ‘Stangs. Plymouth won, 43-32.
Northville had a 10-point lead at the end of the third quarter but Plymouth shifted their run game into high gear in the final frame.
Gholston pushed in a score from two yards out with 7:37 left in the game to make it a 32-29 game, with Northville in the lead. Then he broke free for a 49-yard run to give the Wildcats a 36-32 lead after the extra point by Jeff Lucco. With 2:20 left Gholston scampered 26 yards to put the game away.
It wasn’t all Gholston. Plymouth’s defense stepped up to the challenge, stopping Northville on two consecutive drives in the fourth. Plymouth also had a key 17-play drive at the end of the third that spanned 7:24 and ended with Gholston’s first score of the fourth.
“We knew we had to keep their offense off the field as much as we could,” said Plymouth Coach Jay Blaylock. “We made a couple mistakes on offense that almost cost the game but our senior Nate Golston stepped in there and had some clutch runs for us. He did a great job.
“We needed a stop from our defense and they did an awesome job in the second half of stepping up and playing great,” he added. “After we were down a couple of plays on defense they did a great job making the stops. Our offense and defense fed off each other to get us back in the game.”
The first half was equally exciting.
Plymouth opened up the scoring with a 50-yard run by Vaquero Tyus. Special teams botched the extra-point snap but kicker Lucco scooped up the loose ball and pitched it to tight end Ron Goble for a two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.
On his first play in for injured quarterback Mike DeLuca, sophomore back-up Matt Kreager—on a fourth-and-11 from Plymouth’s 27-yard line—threw a perfect strike to Aaron Chew. His second play resulted in a two-yard completion to Andrew Devine to tie the score at 8.
Plymouth took the lead again on a 26-yard run by Tyus. Lucco’s kick gave the Wildcats a 15-8 advantage. Northville answered when Kreager connected with David Burke for a three-yard score. Max Bojovic’s kick evened things at 15 with 10:35 left to play in the first half.
Northville’s Doug Hasse recovered a Plymouth fumble on the Wildcat’s next possession. That led to Kreager’s third consecutive touchdown pass. That time it was a 14-yarder to Chew, giving the ‘Stangs a 22-15 lead with 6:32 left in the half.
That was plenty of time for Plymouth.
The Wildcats put together an impressive drive that ended with Tyus’s third score. The teams went into the intermission knotted, 22-22.
Northville was forced to punt on the opening drive of the second half but Plymouth fumbled and Northville recovered on the Wildcats’ 29. Dittrick Williams punched it in from five yards out, giving the Mustangs a 29-22 lead. Northville then recovered another fumble on Plymouth’s 34. The Wildcat defense kept Northville out of the end zone but Bojovic split the uprights with a 21-yard field goal, giving the ‘Stangs their 10-point lead.
“We have to learn to put the nail in the coffin,” said Northville Coach Ryan Hockman. “We had opportunities. Our defense did a great job coming out in the second half and stopping them and forced some turnovers like we’ve been asking them to do. I got a little conservative when we had that 10-point lead. Our defense did some good things there but we can’t keep putting our defense in those situations over and over. Our kids are disappointed, but they were out there working their butts off.”
The conditions were less than ideal for Northville’s passing game but Kreager scrambled, threw from the pocket and was an effective passer, even on the run. He finished with 207 yards and three touchdowns. It wasn’t a surprise for Hockman.
“We knew he was a good player,” he said. “He’s been playing his tail off all season. We knew he was a player…that’s why he’s playing varsity. It was just a matter of time before he got his chance. The best thing is: we have him for two more years.”
However, he said there wouldn’t be a controversy if DeLuca is able to play next week.
“Mike is a great kid, great quarterback and a great competitor,” Hockman said. “We always say you can’t lose your job to injury and he will have chance to keep that job but he will have to fight to do that.”
Blaylock, who had the same experience two weeks prior, was also impressed with the backup’s play.
“He did a nice job,” he said of Kreager. “We went through the same thing against Canton. We lost a kid during the game and had to have a kid step in. That’s a credit to their coaches to have a guy ready to step in and run their offense.
“We changed one of our fronts,” he added. “Our defensive coordinator, Mike Sawchuck, got in a 4-2 and that put a little more pressure on him and that helped. We got a couple of sacks in there and that all helped.”
Tyus led Plymouth’s ground attack with 183 yards on 25 carries. Williams led Northville with 125 yards on 17 carries.
Plymouth hosts Walled Lake Western at 4:30 pm on Friday and Northville heads to Franklin for a 7 p.m. kick off.
