JOHNSTOWN – The season-opening matchup with the Northridge football team hosting East Knox was a typical opener with a ton of mistakes on both sides.
East Knox was penalized 10 times for 80 yards and had one turnover, but Northridge was unable to overcome five turnovers on its side. East Knox parlayed three of those turnovers into touchdowns and, as a result, the visiting Bulldogs came away with a 19-14 win over the Vikings on Aug. 21.
This game came down to the final two minutes with East Knox getting a stop on downs with 1:47 left after Northridge had driven to the Bulldogs’ 3-yard line. That red zone stand made a winner of 25-year-old Gabe Steinmetz in his head coaching debut for the Bulldogs, who were just 1-9 last season.
“That was all the kids,” said Steinmetz, who has been an East Knox coaching staff member since he graduated from the school in 2019. “They’ve worked their butts off this summer camp. The last two years, these guys have beaten us by one point. We talked numerous times about taking that next step, and I think that work and the time that they’re putting in has helped them take that step.”
The loss spoiled the Northridge head coaching debut of Dave Everson, who was an assistant coach for previous Vikings head coach Dustin Calhoun last year. Northridge lost two fumbles, threw two interceptions and also watched as East Knox recovered an onside kick that went off a Vikings player.
“When we turn the ball over five times, I don’t know if you can beat anybody doing that,” Everson said. “Our kids played hard and there were big plays on both sides of the ball. Both teams played hard. It was a fun game. It was the first game of the year and there were first game jitters for some of these kids. Conditioning is always a factor, but hat’s off to them.”
East Knox held a 330-276 edge in total yardage. Bulldogs quarterback Rush Beatty completed 9 of 14 passes for three touchdowns and also rushed for 48 yards. Parker Schwartz added 13 carries for 82 yards, and Dakota Cooper added four catches for 77 yards and two TDs.
It was the first start at quarterback for Northridge sophomore Bridon Angus, who also played the entire game at linebacker. He completed 11 of 14 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns, and his two interceptions came on deep passes when he was trying to make a play.
“He’s a sophomore and a first-time starter,” Everson said. “He did start our scrimmage last Friday night, but for his first start he played very well.”
Angus’ touchdown passes went to Noah Mason and Gus Cermak. Jayce Golden had 12 carries for 40 yards and caught six passes for 63 yards for Northridge.
East Knox recovered a fumble on Northridge’s first possession and then drove 60 yards to the game’s first touchdown on Beatty’s 20-yard TD toss to Cooper. But Northridge came back with an 11-play, 67-yard scoring march with Angus hitting Mason for a 28-yard TD. He then found Golden for the two-point conversion and an 8-7 lead late in the first quarter.
On Northridge’s next possession, Angus looked off the defense and hit a wide open Cermak for a 77-yard bomb that put the Vikings up 14-7. But a 40-yard interception return by East Knox’s Cason Faucett set up Beatty’s 23-yard TD pass to Cooper that cut the Northridge lead to 14-13.
That score stood until late in the third quarter with East Knox taking possession after an interception and driving 80 yards for the go-ahead touchdown on Beatty’s 39-yard TD pass to Peyton Hall. The PAT kick was blocked, but East Knox led 19-14.
Northridge had one last chance and drove from its own 38-yard line to the East Knox 3. But Angus was knocked for a 2-yard loss and a delay of game penalty moved the Vikings back to the 10. On fourth down there, Angus tried to scramble but was dropped by East Knox’s Braxton Lahmon at the 9-yard line with 1:47 left. East Knox ran out the remaining time to get the victory that matched its win total from last year.
“With blowouts, you don’t really learn a whole lot,” said Everson, whose team hosts Fredericktown on Aug. 28. “When they hurt, you learn the most. And you typically make your most improvement between games one and two. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to get back to work and correct the mistakes.”
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Northridge football falls three yards shy against East Knox
Reporting by Steve Helwagen, Correspondent / Newark Advocate
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Steve Helwagen, Correspondent | USA TODAY Network
