ELKHART —
NorthWood’s young offense moved the ball, but couldn’t find the end zone in a high school football season opener Friday night at Jimtown.
The Jimmies took advantage of a couple of NorthWood turnovers in posting a 27-0 win over the Panthers.
“I was really happy with our offense. We just need to learn how to finish drives,” NorthWood coach Scott Hoover said. “That is something that will come with experience and confidence. It’s something we are going to have to learn.”
Jimtown’s senior speedster Devan Emerson ran for 119 yards on 14 carries.
“Devan was able to bounce a few plays outside,” Jimtown coach Mike Campbell said.
Campbell knows the game was closer than the score indicates.
“We had a couple of big plays early on and we took advantage of a couple of NorthWood turnovers,” the coach said. “We were able to do a few things when NorthWood stuffed the box.”
One of those big plays was a 47-yard touchdown pass as senior quarterback Brody Olson hooked up with senior Carter Gill at 8:18 of the second period to put the Jimmies up 14-0.
The pair also teamed up on a 2-yard TD with 6:05 left in the contest.
‘Olson showed poise and Gill is a big target,” Campbell said. “Throwing the ball like that is a breath of fresh air. We know we can run the ball. We need to able to throw it when we need to.”
Emerson scored Jimtown’s first TD on a 9-yard scamper at 9:16 of the opening period while junior Casey Adams added a 1-yard smash at 5:53 of the third.
Junior Will Kirkwood made his debut as the NorthWood starting quarterback. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 119 yards. He completed passes to six different receivers. Junior Tyler Minnich had four receptions for 31 yards, senior Dustin Yoder three for 21 and senior Dylan Risser two for 26.
“Will had a good game throwing the ball,” Hoover said. “He had a couple of bad throws, but we all had a couple of mistakes in this one.”
The young signal caller did one thing that pleased his coach.
“We have been working the last five years to get our quarterbacks to pick up our hot receiver when the defense comes with a blitz,” Hoover said. “Will did that tonight. It’s the best we have looked hitting those receivers in my five years.”
The Adams brothers created problems for the NorthWood offense. Junior Casey Adams made 14 tackles and senior Tanner Adams eight.
“They are always flying to the ball,” Campbell said. “You have to account for them. If you don’t they are going to pressure the quarterback all night long.
“We gave up too much on the outside. If we can shore up our underneath coverage and our linebacker we can have a pretty good defense.”
NorthWood (0-1) is at Culver Military Academy and Jimtown (1-0) hosts John Glenn next Friday.
Sports
Related Photos
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NorthWood receiver Dylan Risser is brought down by Jimtown defender Evan Oblinger after making a catch Friday night at Jimtown. Jimtown's Carter Gill looks on. SAM HOUSEHOLDER | THE GOSHEN NEWS
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NorthWood's Blake Cleveland runs through a hole in the Jimtown defense as Jimtown's Elmer Graves (3) closes in Friday night at Jimtown. SAM HOUSEHOLDER | THE GOSHEN NEWS
PREP FOOTBALL: Jimtown overpowers the Panthers
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