Going back home is always a plus especially after a lackluster performance against Gaithersburg last week where Northwest suffered their first loss of the season. Add a large supporting crowd and a fired up Jaguar team looking to right their wrongs from the previous contest and you get a 50-0 rout against the Blake Bengals. Northwest came out the gates fast attacking early and often starting off with a block punt from defensive back Luke Pierce which was picked up by Josh Gills and returned for a score.
From there the onslaught continued and it came from the combination of Northwest quarterbacks Josh Gills and Mark Pierce with Gills accounting for three offensive touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving) and one special teams score. Pierce was amazing efficient passing 5 for 7 for 117 yards with 2 touchdown strikes which one just happened to go 56 yards to Gills. As much as the offense would love to bask in the spotlight, the Northwest defense led by Luke Pierce, Rodney Snider and a front seven built like a brick wall made Blake’s offense look like their fan attendance, non-existence.
Perhaps being a little upset with giving up the most points all season to Gaithersburg , Northwest defense took it out on Blake by shutting them down for the whole game even when the starters where sat after they went up 40-0 by halftime. ” I was impressed with the sense of urgency that our team played with. I felt like we were aggressive in all three phases of the game (offense, defense and special teams). Our offense blocked well and ran plays at a fast pace while our defense was physical and swarmed to the ball. Special teams blocked the first punt returned it for the first score and then recovered the ensuing kickoff” said Northwest head coach Mike Neubeiser.
Northwest senior cornerback Rodney Snider spoke very highly of his team saying” We came out really strong last night, did our jobs all across the board and we came out really fast”. Blake looks to rebound from their fourth shutout loss of the season as the head back home to host Springbrook while Northwest goes on the road as they prepare themselves for a big match up with unbeaten Paint Branch on Friday night. Asked what was the message to his team heading into a huge game against Paint Branch, Coach Neubeiser said” It’s kinda cliché but we have to eliminate the mistakes that we’ve been making throughout the season avoid penalties, turnovers and play physical on defense.”
Story by Dominique Butler