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Coach says Falcons 'stunk the joint up defensively'
By Nate Ulrich
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Saturday, Sep 01, 2007
LAWRENCE TWP: The Northwest football team gave Firestone a bitter taste of what it's like to play a perennial state playoff team.
The Falcons (1-1) proved last week they can win outside the City Series when they defeated Revere, a solid Suburban League team, in the season opener.
But Northwest (2-0) forced Firestone to realize that it hasn't quite reached the level needed to beat a team that has qualified for the postseason six consecutive years, as the host Indians thrashed the Falcons 42-21 on Friday night.
Firestone coach Tim Flossie said he wanted his team to experience the brutal brand of football that has become a strong tradition at Northwest because he believes playing a harsh schedule helps a program improve. Flossie knows about building a stellar program; he won back-to-back state championships at Buchtel in the late 1980s.
''We just stunk the joint up defensively,'' Flossie said. ''They're a really good football team, and I'm not taking anything away from them. They're well-coached, and you just can't do what we did against these guys. We've got to find 11 players who want to play defense.''
Like most teams with a suc
cessful resume, Northwest has premier players who helped keep Firestone in check.
Indians senior wide receiver/defensive back Teddy Robb demonstrated his versatility and talent with two touchdown catches and two interceptions.
He caught a 68-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jim Shiplett to give the Indians a 7-0 advantage with 10:54 left in the first quarter.
Robb got his first interception of the game midway through the second quarter, when Firestone quarterback Trevor Kennedy threw a high floater to the back of Northwest's end zone.
''I just thought we executed really well as a team,'' said Robb, who was a second-team all-district pick in Division III last season. ''We were ready to play because it was our first home game.''
Senior tailback Brice Griffin and junior fullback Frank Steen ran for touchdowns of 1 and 8 yards respectively to put Northwest ahead 21-0 at halftime.
''The first half, we only got the ball three times, and we scored three times,'' Northwest coach Vic Whiting said. ''They were really good drives with execution. Last week, we didn't execute very well, but we made tremendous improvements from the first to second week.''
The Indians demonstrated another characteristic of a successful team: refusing to let the Falcons come within striking distance in the second half.
Robb jump-started Northwest's 21-point third quarter when he got his second interception on the Falcons' second play of the half. He then caught an 8-yard pass from Shiplett in the front-left corner of the end zone to give the Indians a 28-0 lead.
Senior Darshawn Thomas, who ran hard for the Falcons all night, had a 30-yard touchdown run and rushed for a successful two-point conversion.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at 330-996-3800.
LAWRENCE TWP: The Northwest football team gave Firestone a bitter taste of what it's like to play a perennial state playoff team.
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