Northwood back Cameron Jackson takes a kickoff 88 yards for a TD
/ Earl Arms
MIDLAND -- The Northwood football team improved to 2-0 on the season with a 28-16 win over Walsh Saturday afternoon (September 8).
The Timberwolves are now 1-0 in the GLIAC. Walsh, playing in its first-ever GLIAC contest, falls to 1-1 overall, 0-1 in the GLIAC.
Walsh got on the board first, kicking a field goal to go up 5:39 remaining in the first quarter. Northwood responded immediately, as junior Cameron Jackson (Dahlonega, Ga./Lumpkin) took the kickoff following the score back 88 yards for a touchdown. It was the second kick return for a score in his career and put Northwood up 7-0.
The score remained 7-3 until the final minutes of the second quarter. Northwood went 63 yards on 10 plays, which was capped by a Jordan Jonker (Hudsonville, Mich.) six-yard run which put the Timberwolves up 14-3 with 1:51 remaining in the half. NU got a stop on defense and got the ball back with 1:07 remaining in the half with a chance to extend their lead. But a turnover followed by a 34-yard touchdown pass for Walsh that sent the game to halftime with the score 14-10. Walsh finished the opening 30 minutes with a 185-124 advantage in total yards.
Northwood's special teams was the key for another touchdown in the third quarter. Junior Eric Williams (Romulus, Mich./Inkster) returned a Cavalier punt 51 yards, putting the Timberwolves at the Walsh 22. Seven players later, Jackson found the end zone for the second time on the day, this time from one yard out. That TD made the score 21-10 with 6:38 remaining in the third.
Walsh responded early in the fourth quarter, scoring a touchdown with 11:50 remaining to make the score 21-16. Northwood once again responded right away, as Jonker scored his second TD of the game with 9:20 remaining on a two-yard run. The key play of the drive was a 22-yard pass from Aaron Shavers (Detroit, Mich./Inkster) to Cory Goble (Davison, Mich.) on third and six to keep the drive alive. That TD proved to be the final score of the contest.
Both defenses played well in the game, as neither team reached 300 yards of offense in the contest. Walsh finished with a 283-265 edge in total yards. Northwood had 160 yards rushing and 105 yards passing in the game. The Timberwolves did hold a 33:51-26:09 advantage in possession time.
Jackson led Northwood with 78 yards rushing in the contest, while Jonker added 40 yards on the ground. Shavers finished with 105 yards passing and 30 yards rushing. Ryan Whittum (Livonia, Mich./Churchill) had 10 tackles and a pair of sacks to lead the Northwood offense.
Northwood will return to action next week for the first road game of the season Saturday (September 15) at Notre Dame (OH). Game time is set for 7 p.m.
