NEWARK — Senior Nick Armrose and his Northmor teammates celebrated on White Field Friday night, knowing this special group still has unfinished business.

“I mean, it’s everything. I bleed black and gold. I’ve been on here since I was a fifth grader,” the 225-pound lineman/linebacker said moments after making history.

The Golden Knights held off a tough Ridgewood team, 21-7 and have a date with top-seeded Grandview Heights Friday night at Westerville Central High School for a Division VI, Region 23 championship.

‘Stick to our plan’

“To finally be doing that as a senior, it’s everything. But we’re not done yet,” said Armrose.

Northmor is going where it’s never gone before — The Elite Eight.

Armrose was part of the goal-line stand in the second quarter that changed the game.

“It’s unimaginable. I always knew we could do it and was never worried,” he said. “We stick to our plan and if we all work together and all do our jobs, we’ll come out on top.”

With 1:41 remaining in the first half Armrose and his defensive unit, which includes Ashton Clark and Cameron Goldbach, stopped Ridgewood quarterback Grant Lahmers inches short of the goal line.

The offense needed just three passing plays and went 84 yards for a touchdown as quarterback A.J. Bower and receivers Jax Wenger and Bo Landin put on an aerial show with a minute and change to play.

That sequence swung the momentum and set Northmor on a path to its first regional final.

Focus on physicality

“We focus on being the more physical team. We know if we control the trenches and are the more physical team, we will win the game,” he added. “We hit ’em in the mouth and they didn’t know what to do.”

Armrose, having grown up around the program with his father as head coach, considers this group “my family.”

He had 12 tackles (four solo) against the Generals. Armrose was chosen first team all-Central District as an offensive lineman.

“They’re my best friends, they’re my buddies. To be able to go out and win with these guys, it means everything to me. It means a lot,” he said.

Clark recorded seven tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss. As a unit, the Golden Knights had seven TFL.

“It feels amazing. I transferred schools since my sophomore year and I never had this feeling of winning, and the sensation of the family that brought us all together,” he said.

“(It’s) everything about this win. The scouting, the preparation, and the scout teams for putting all the work in.”

Goldbach, who earned second team all-district as a defensive end, agreed.

“It came down to a team effort. Our defense stepped up and we went into halftime with a 7-0 lead. We came out and dominated,” he said. “We were the more physical football team, and we had more heart.”

Clark said watching film of Ridgewood he knew it would be a physical battle.

“They don’t like getting smacked in the mouth. They’re usually the hard-hitting team. We came out and hit ’em, hit ’em, hit ’em. It works every time,” he said.

“Even with Caldwell, they were a hard-hitting team, but didn’t know how to respond to it.”

Goldbach also noted the goal-line stand was “a giant momentum changer” for the Golden Knights.

“When our backs are against the wall, we’re going to prevail … bend, don’t break.”

‘We wanted more’

Last season the Golden Knights fell short in the regional semifinals to Garaway, 42-7.

“We were just happy to be there. This year we came back, and we wanted more,” Goldbach said. “I think everyone wants to win it all. I think we’re up there.”

The defensive unit has given up 93 points (average 7.1 per game) this year, yielding just 14 points in three playoff games.

“Our defense has prevailed all season, giving up very little points, shutting out teams that we probably shouldn’t shut out. We’re gonna come out and we wanna hit. We all like contact.”

Clark said the team is unselfish and players going unnoticed isn’t really a problem.

“We don’t care who gets the ball, who makes a stop, who does anything. We want to win, that’s all we care about. We could have a freshman defensive end make sacks and we’d be happy,” he said.

Conner Stockdale and Garrett Deisch also were active in the win Friday night. Deisch had 15 tackles to lead Northmor, including five solo tackles.

Both recorded a tackle for loss, with Stockdale recovering a fumble.

Clark said Grandview Heights (13-0) is a good team that faces a lot of Wing-T offenses in its league.

“I don’t think they’ve seen a spread offense like this, and how much talent we have. We’re ready for them.”

Regional final opponent

Head coach Scott Armose knows there is more work ahead this week to prepare for an undefeated opponent.

“They’re all good teams now. We know that. Every week is going to be a challenge, and we know that,” he said.

Grandview Heights’ vaunted running attack was on display as it blanked Fort Frye, 27-0, in the other Region 23 semifinal.

All-Ohioan Henry Ohlinger had scoring runs of 80, 51 and 76 yards and totaled 235 yards as the Bobcats improved to 12-0. They completed just two passes in the game but rushed for nearly 300 yards against a stout Fort Frye defense.

Grandview Heights knocked off Colonel Crawford the previous week, 13-6, as he rushed for 142 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns.

A 205-pound junior, Ohlinger has a combination of power and speed that has drawn the attention of several Division I college programs.

Ohlinger has help from a pair of teammates.

Braddock Lusher (6-2, 220), who leads them in tackles at defensive end, and Cooper Bauer, a solid two-way player for head coach Jason Peters.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Armrose added.

“But we’re excited to be together one more week. Working one more week and putting another plan together and getting ready to go.”