LAWRENCE TWP. —On a young team that includes three sophomores on the offensive line, Northwest turned to two seniors on Friday, Aug. 21.
Conner Stephenson and Jakob Garber scored the only two touchdowns of the game in Northwest’s 16-0 high school football opening night win over Alliance.
“It was one of the things we were counting on coming into this season,” said head coach John DeMarco, whose team lost 23 seniors to graduation last year. “Not just for their play but their leadership. They brought it on both sides of the ball for us.”
Watch Ohio High School Football Live on NFHS Network all year
Stephenson made the biggest play of the first half. The 6-foot-1, 201-pound linebacker raced after an Alliance pass swatted behind the line of scrimmage. He never heard a whistle and recovered it in the end zone to give Northwest a 7-0 with 6:54 left in the first quarter.
“(DeMarco) screams at us in practice if you don’t run to the ball,” Stephenson said. “If you don’t hear the whistle, you keep running to the ball or you’ve got up-downs.”
Garber scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 6:44 left in the third quarter. On multiple occasions, the 6-0, 211-pound tailback pushed for extra yards. Senior kicker Noah Cooper drilled a 25-yard field goal in the last minute of the third quarter to close out the scoring.
Northwest christened brand new turf at Dr. Martin Smilek Stadium with the win. A large contingent of fans were already in their seats as the scoreboard showed more than 55 minutes before kickoff on an 80-degree evening. Lengthy injury timeouts delayed the game in the second half.
Stephenson and DeMarco said the win will boost the confidence of the sophomore-laden offensive line.
“Those sophomores, getting those first-game jitters out of the way is perfect,” Stephenson said. They’re going to keep getting better and they’re going to look like seniors out there.”
“It’s nice to have three sophomores out there and still get a win,” Demarco said. “Because a lot of times you get a loss in that situation so it was nice to get a win and have something to build on.”
Alliance forced two turnovers in the first half. Senior defensive back Damiere Jones knocked the ball away at the Alliance 7, and senior Lynelle Johnson also forced a fumble.
“I thought our defense did a great job,” Alliance head coach Tim Goodman said. “They were flying to the ball. They were resilient. … They kept us in this ballgame. Kudos to them and our offense has to catch up to them in a hurry because it’s not fair to our defense to put it all on them.”
Alliance’s offense got inside the red zone twice but couldn’t score. Cayden Sanders’ pass to Breyonn Edwards marched the Aviators to the Northwest 17 with 17 seconds left in the first half. With no timeouts, Alliance couldn’t spike the ball in time to stop the clock after a pass over the middle, and the half ended.
Senior receiver Cashe Brisker connected with Edwards on a pass for 57 yards to the Northwest 5 in the fourth quarter. But Alliance turned it over on downs four plays later.
“That really hurt us that we didn’t punch those in,” Goodman said. “If we punch those in it’s a whole different ballgame. You can’t make mistakes and expect to win a football game.”
The Canton Repository sports department can be contacted via email at sports@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Young Northwest football team gets big lift from senior leaders
Our editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.
Reporting by Walt Doerschuk, Special to The Alliance Review / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Walt Doerschuk, Special to The Alliance Review | USA TODAY Network
