Events Calendar
In This Section
Boys basketball: Buchtel 89, Garfield 62
Obituary: Hoban's Tom Goodall felt obliged to share everything he had
Syracuse's impressive start continues. Wildcats win
Georgetown jolts No. 2 Villanova
Tigers chew up Explorers on court
Wrestling: Twinsburg takes away championship
Vikings' sails get lift at the Win Tunnel
Panthers' hopes grow for PTC championship
Most Read Stories
Man robbed at Tallmadge Avenue eatery
Another winter punch heading toward Ohio
Four teens restrain man, take items from his Akron home
Complaints against officer keep coming
Police: Ohio girl dies after fall into snow bank
Region makes way for latest batch of snow; cancellations rise
Cuyahoga Falls residents come home to find burning couch on balcony
Blogs:
First Bell - On Education:
No City of Akron basketball tonight
Pets:
Pet telethon re-airs
The Heldenfiles:
Chipmunks "Squeakquel" on DVD/BD March 30
Akron Zips:
Late surge gives Zips ugly road win
Tribe Matters:
Blogmail response on Hafner
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth's contract terminated
Balanced Ledger:
QB in Browns future: another mock draft
Kent State Sports:
KSU Notes – February 9
Cleveland Cavaliers:
NBA Power Rankings from Around the Internet
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes grab 18 players on signing day
Varsity Letters:
Garfield at Buchtel basketball
All Da King's Men:
Palin At The Tea Party Convention
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Republican Pre-Conditions
Akron Law Café:
Citizens United v. F.E.C. (Part 4): Kennedy's and O'Connor's Basic Approaches to Constitutional Decisionmaking – Top Down and Bottom Up
Car Chase:
Collector Car Hobby Loses One of the Best—Jim Roll
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Decisions Decisions: Credit Cards or Your Mortgage?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Loucile is looking for a Lake Erie getaway in June for three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5.
Sound Check:
Talk of the Town – Top entertainment picks for the weekend
HRLite House:
Track HR Research
Akron Gamer:
Makers of 'Castle Crashers' unveil 'BattleBlock Theater'
See Jane Style:
Do IT this week: Layering
While two teammates recover, Indians fall out of postseason
By David Lee Morgan Jr. Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Saturday, Nov 17, 2007
NEW PHILADELPHIA: The anguish and pain that the Northwest football program went through this week were almost unbearable.
And the Indians were hoping that a win against Licking Valley on Friday night in the Division III Region 11 regional championship game would at least soothe some of that pain.
It didn't happen.
Licking Valley rallied with a late touchdown for a 21-17 win, handing Northwest (12-1) its first loss of the season.
As the Northwest players gathered near the locker room after the game, being consoled by family, friends, coaches and teammates, a supporter yelled, ''Keep your heads up, guys, you're still champions.''
Considering what the Indians went through, the gentleman who made that statement was right.
Earlier in the week, defensive end Matt Hosking and fullback Frank Steen were injured in a serious head-on car accident, driving different cars and crashing into each other.
They are recovering from their injuries, but the team had a tough time recovering.
''You saw it all week,'' Northwest coach Vic Whiting said. ''We didn't practice well all week. I thought they would jump-start it tonight.''
The Indians did get off to a slow start against Licking Valley. They were able to move the ball against the Panthers (12-1) with an effective mix of runs and passes, but managed only three first-half points: a 43-yard field goal by kicker Chris Koy late in the
first quarter.
Licking Valley took a 7-3 lead with 7:44 left in the second quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Phillips to Drew Ryan in the left corner of the end zone.
The Panthers threatened to add another score in the final minute and drove deep into Northwest territory, but, with no timeouts, couldn't stop the clock, and time expired.
The Indians' only other scoring threat in the first half ended when running back Dan Beers was stopped a half-yard short on fourth-and-3, and Licking Valley took over at its 20.
''I thought we should've scored 21 points in the first half,'' Whiting said, referring to several missed opportunities.
Northwest was forced to punt on its opening possession of the third quarter, and Licking Valley increased its lead to 14-3 on a 14-yard run by Josh Bailey with 9:35 left in the quarter.
Then the Indians came to life.
Led by Beers (114 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries) quarterback Jimmy Shiplett (11-of-26 for 131 yards and a touchdown) and receiver Paul Hensley (five catches, 62 yards and a touchdown), Northwest fought back.
They scored 14 unanswered points on a 22-yard run by Beers with 6:20 left in the third quarter and a 20-yard touchdown reception by Hensley on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 17-14 lead.
Then came ''The Drive.''
Licking Valley put together an 18-play, 95-yard scoring drive that took up most of the quarter. The winning score came with 2:49 left when running back Storm Klein scored on fourth-and-goal at the 1.
It was a valiant goal-line stand for Northwest, and Klein even looked to be stopped short, but extra effort got him in the end zone.
The Indians still had a shot and moved the ball to the Licking Valley 30, but a desperation pass to the end zone on fourth down in the final minute was knocked down.
''Our guys went through a lot of adversity this week, and they did what they could,'' Whiting said.
''They played hard.''
David Lee Morgan Jr. can be reachedat dlmorgan@thebeaconjournal.com.
NEW PHILADELPHIA: The anguish and pain that the Northwest football program went through this week were almost unbearable.
Get the full article here.
