FeedsNorthville Mustangs hurdle Rocks, 20-14
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Northville's junior fullback Jake Weddle pushes for extra yardage on Friday. He scored two touchdowns for the Mustangs to beat host Salem, 20-14.Over the past few years the gridiron bouts between Salem and Northville have been widely ignored.
Not this year.
The two clubs are in different stages of a turnaround right now and both are on the right track. One is physically dominant but looking to overcome mental atrophy from years of losing while the other—purged of coaching mishaps—made a drastic 180-degree turn and has very promising opportunity to make the playoffs.
The Rocks and the Mustangs struggled over the recent years—both possessed 1-8 records in 2007—but Friday night was different at the Plymouth-Canton Education Park auxiliary field where the two teams tussled.
With a huge offensive line the Rocks proved that they could pound opponents in previous weeks. They nearly beat a playoff bound Novi and racked up 63 points against a young South Lyon East team last week for Salem’s lone victory this season.
But the Rocks have “turned the corner,” according to Salem Coach Parker Salowich. They no longer look defeated and choose to battle to the very end of every game, he said.
They definitely didn’t look broken, but neither did the Northville Mustangs, who are also recovering from a 1-8 2007 campaign. Northville—the comeback team of the year—is primed for a playoff berth with a 4-2 record after beating the Rocks, 20-14, on Friday.
To reach the post season the ‘Stangs need to win at least two of their last three contests. Novi is next.
“Playoffs are definitely a goal of the team this year,” said Northville Coach Matt Ladach. “But we have to take opponents one at a time. This week we can’t afford to think about playoffs when we have Novi. This is a huge game—a rivalry game—for us. We have to be prepared for Novi, not week 10.”
With that said, Friday’s game was more interesting than the 20-14 score indicates.
Fans on both sides had a chance to see a little bit of everything.
While Salem’s offense struggled for the first time in three weeks with just 150 total yards, the defense and special teams got the job done—at least to keep them in the game.
With 2:02 left in the first quarter, Salem’s sophomore linebacker Ethan Walsh recovered a Northville fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. Walsh added the extra point for a 7-0 advantage.
Northville, on the other hand, managed to move the ball well at times.
Junior quarterback Dan Mills performed well in the absence of an injured senior starter Matt Kreager. Mills completed 50 percent of his passes (11-of-22) for 147 yards and a score. The ground attack racked up 92 yards between six players.
The Mustangs countered with a 4-yard plunge by junior fullback Jake Weddle just four seconds into the second quarter. The point-after attempt failed to make it a 7-6 game.
Northville senior defensive back picked off a Salem pass to stymie the Rock’s next drive with 9:32 left to play in the half.
The ‘Stangs made good on the turnover four minutes later when Mills connected with senior tight end Ryan Gerblick for a 25-yard score. Northville missed the extra point again but led, 12-7, at the half.
Salem responded in the second half when it blocked a Northville punt that junior defensive back Alex King recovered in the end zone for the Rocks’ second score. Walsh’s kick was good for a 14-12 lead.
According to the statistics—85-percent of teams that block a punt win the game—Salem was on the fast track to earning their second victory of the year.
Northville was determined to put Salem in the other 15 percentile.
And with 7:49 left to play they did. Weddle pounded out eight tough yards for a Mustang score and caught Mill’s pass for the two-point conversion and a 20-14 advantage.
“We knew coming into this game that we could throw the record out,” Ladach said. “Salem is a heck of a lot better than 1-4—1-5 now. They are a good football team. I’m proud of our guys. I told them in the huddle that winning close football games is a compliment to their passion and their desire. I’m happy with the win and we will take a win ANY way that we can get them.”
Salowich was disappointed with the loss but not with the effort of his team.
“Defense and special teams stepped up for us this week but we’re disappointed with the offense obviously,” he said. “(Northville) had a good scheme for us and they are a very good team but they took away some things that we like to do and I know penalties killed us. It’s frustrating but that’s football.
“These kids just don’t give up,” he added. “That was the corner we wanted to turn and they did that. We’re real happy with the effort.”
Salem is at South Lyon and Northville hosts Novi at 7 p.m. on Friday.
