IBERIA — Centerburg couldn’t stay out of its own way Friday night.
The 10th-seeded Trojans gave up a 93-yard kickoff return on the game’s opening play and never recovered in a 39-7 loss to No. 2-seed Northmor.
“You can’t do that against a team like that,” Centerburg coach Andy Colella said. “You dig yourself a hole right away.
(The photos below were taken by Diane Bemiller)
“Just the way they’ve been playing all year. They’re explosive as ever and … that’s a mental hurdle you have to overcome and we weren’t able to overcome it.”
Northmor won the coin toss and opted to receive, which turned out to be the most important call of the night. Jaxson Wenger fielded the kickoff at his own 7-yard line and ran untouched through a gaping hole in the Centerburg coverage team.
“We’ve been waiting for someone to kick it deep to Jax or Cowen (Becker) all season long,” Northmor coach Scott Armrose said. “We finally got a kick back deep to them and we made them pay for it.
“Special teams executed very well.”
Centerburg’s first possession ended in disaster when quarterback Blane Ball had the ball stripped as he scrambled on third-and-long. Northmor’s Garrett Deisch pounced on the loose ball at the Centerburg 20. Five plays later, Cowen Becker darted into the end zone from 2 yards out and the Knights led 12-0 before most fans had settled into their seats.
The Trojans had an opportunity to cut into the lead later in the first quarter after Lane Johnston recovered a muffed punt at the Northmor 13. Centerburg was unable to cash in, however, and turned the ball over on downs.
“At that point in time, it’s 12-0. If you go down there and score, it’s 12-7,” Colella said. “You don’t punch that in and it keeps snow-balling from there.”
Northmor all but sealed it early in the second quarter when quarterback A.J. Bower threw a quick out toward Wenger on second-and-long. The ball slipped through the fingertips of Centerburg’s Heath Merklin and into the waiting arms of Wenger, who turned upfield and raced 83 yards for the score and an 18-0 Northmor lead.
“That was kind of the back-breaker,” Colella said. “We had a chance to tackle him, but it never happened.”
Wenger caught his second TD pass of the half, a 14-yarder with 4:44 remaining in the opening half, to push Northmor’s lead to 25-0. Wenger had four catches for 114 yards and two TDs in the first half, while Bower completed 12-of-17 passes for 183 yards and two TDs in the opening half.
Centerburg put together its best drive of the evening on its first possession of the second half. The drive was capped when Ball hooked up with Chris Marshall on a 10-yard scoring strike to make it 25-7 with 8:37 to play in the third.
The Trojans appeared to cut further into Northmor’s advantage early in the fourth when Ball found Noah Gribben for a 14-yard TD, but the play was nullified by penalty and the Trojans turned the ball over on downs on the following play.
Northmor put it away with a pair of fourth-quarter scores. Bower hooked up with Bo Landin on a 46-yard TD pass early in the period and found Wenger on a 21-yarder late.
Northmor (12-0) will play West Lafayette Ridgewood in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. Nov. 15.Ridgewood beat Newcomerstown 34-14.
Centerburg (8-4) won last week’s playoff opener at Reedsville Eastern, the program’s first postseason victory since 2014.
“They accomplished a lot,” Colella said. “They are the fourth team in program history to win a playoff game, so they put themselves in a different category when it’s all said and done.
“They have a lot to be proud of and I am proud of them.”