IBERIA — Northmor has multiple ways to damage opposing defenses.
The Knights have what Tennessee Ernie Ford described in the song “16 Tons” — One fist of iron, the other of steel. If the right one don’t get you then the left one will.
The offensive one-two punch of quarterback A.J. Bower and wideout Jax Wenger along with a stout defense led No. 2 seeded Northmor to a decisive 39-7 win over No. 10 seed Centerburg in a Division VI, Region 23 quarterfinal game.
With the win, Northmor advances to the regional semifinal, where the opponent will be No. 3 West Lafayette Ridgewood, a 34-14 winner over Newcomerstown.
The potential of the Bower-Wenger duo was on display early. Wenger received the opening kickoff at the seven yard line and raced 93 yards for a touchdown 12 seconds into the game.
“We’ve been waiting for someone to kick it deep to Jax or Cowin (Becker) all season long and we finally got a kick back deep to them and they made them pay for it,” Northmor coach Scott Armrose said. “Those guys are both athletic and we did a great job blocking up front. Special teams executed very well tonight, not just on that play, but all night long.”
The defense contributed early as well. On Centerburg’s first possession, the Knights recovered a fumble at the Trojans’ 20. In five plays, Northmor (12-0) was in the end zone with Becker taking it the final two yards.
The Knights held a 12-0 lead and Centerburg (8-4) had run three plays.
The Trojans had a chance to climb back in it when Northmor fumbled a punt and Centerburg recovered at the Knights’ 13. The Trojans got as close as the six yard line, but a sack and an incomplete pass stalled the scoring effort.
“Our defensive line was dominant again tonight,” Armrose said. “Our linebackers played really well, DBs made plays when they needed to. It was just a dominant defensive performance.”
The Knights’ offense was dotted with big plays, but one that decidedly kept the momentum on the Northmor side came in the second quarter.
Bower hit Wenger with a pass to the left sideline. Wenger appeared to be going out of bounds after a short gain. But he broke a tackle, headed up field, and outran the Centerburg defense 82 yards for a score and an 18-0 Northmor lead.
“What a huge turn that play was,” Armrose said. “Back in Week 4, we threw a ball very similar to that and it was a pick six for them. It ended up bouncing our way (tonight). Anytime Jax has the ball in his hands, he can make it into a big play.”
Wenger scored his third touchdown before halftime on a 14-yard pass from Bower to give the Knights a 25-0 cushion at intermission.
The only score of the evening for the Trojans came on the opening possession of the second half. They drove 78 yards in nine plays.
The big play was a 37-yard strike from Blaine Ball to Trevin Harris. Ball finished the march with a 10-yard connection to Chris Marshall.
“They had a really nice drive — a really good football team — and they executed well there in the third quarter,” Armrose said. “Defensively, we just buckled down and went back to what we did in the first half.”
Northmor added two scores in the fourth quarter. The first came on a 46-yard Bower-to-Bo Landin TD pass and Wenger scored his fourth of the night on a 22-yard pass from Bower.
“We had to take advantage of what they gave us,” Armrose said of the Knights’ big-play offense. “They did a nice job of pressing us underneath and kind of making us take shots over the top and that’s what we did. We’ve got the ability to score from multiple positions and make plays and we did that tonight.”
Bower completed 17 of 23 passes for 302 yards, good for four touchdowns for the Knights. Wenger had eight catches for 169 yards and three scores. Carson Campbell rushed for 80 yards on 17 carries and a TD.
Ball was 18-31 for 213 yards passing with a touchdown. Chris Marshall grabbed seven balls for 97 yards and a score.
The Northmor defense did more than did its job, led by linebacker Cameron Goldbach, who had multiple sacks and quarterback pressures as the Knights suffocated the Trojans’ offense.
“He’s a dominant football player, has been all season long,” Armrose said of Goldbach. “He’s been first-team all-league (KMAC) two years in a row, should be an all-Ohio kid. We’re excited to see that come out. He’s dominant on both sides of the ball.”
The regional semifinal sites will be announced by the OHSAA on Sunday afternoon.
Box score
Northmor 39, Centerburg 7
Score by quarters
Centerburg 0 0 7 0 — 7
Northmor 12 13 0 14 — 39
Scoring summary
First quarter
N — Jax Wenger 93 kickoff return (kick failed), 11:48.
N — Cowin Becker 3 run (kick failed), 9:21.
Second quarter
N — Wenger 82 pass from A.J. Bower (pass failed), 9:24.
N — Wenger 14 pass from Bower (Bower kick), 4:44.
Third quarter
C — Chris Marshall 10 pass from Blaine Ball (Daniel Lemaster kick), 8:37.
Fourth quarter
N — Bo Landin 46 pass from Bower (Bower kick), 9:11.
N — Wenger 22 pass from Bower (Bower kick), 2:44.
Individual statistics
Passing
Centerburg: Blaine Ball 18-31-0 213; Northmor: A.J Bower 17-21-1 302.
Rushing
Centerburg: Blaine Ball 20-38, Miles Marshall 13-34, Chris Marshall 1-5; Northmor: Carson Campbell 17-80, Cowin Becker 7-30, A.J. Bower 6-(-1).
Receiving
Centerburg: Chris Marshall 7-97, Jack Lawrence 5-53, Trevin Harris 4-52, Miles Marshall 2-11; Northmor: Jax Wenger 8-169, Bo Landin 3-72, Carson Campbell 4-52, Cowin Becker 1-7, Cameron Goldbach 1-2.
Team statistics
C N
First downs 15 14
Rushing 34-77 30-109
Passes 18-31-0 17-23-1
Yards passing 213 302
Total yards 290 411
Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0
Punts 4-38.0 1-41.0
Penalties 6-49 7-60