Dayton Daily News Game Stats
October 31, 2009 Defensive Stats

Northmont gets win, waits on edge of playoffs

T-Bolts shut out Beavercreek, but they’re almost certainly out of postseason.

By Greg Billing, Staff Writer

BEAVERCREEK — The Northmont High School football team wasn’t celebrating much on Friday, Oct. 30, knowing that its playoff fate was very nearly sealed in the negative.

While the T-Bolts did their part — beating Beavercreek 28-0 — to make the Division I postseason, their chances are still very slim heading into tonight’s games.

“You can’t lose to Springfield and make the playoffs. That’s what it boils down to,” Northmont coach Lance Schneider said of the 21-18 loss in Week 7.

Beavercreek knows all about those close losses. The Beavers dropped two games by three points to Fairborn and Fairmont and lost another by four points to Wayne. That left quite a few computer points on the table.

“We’ve been right there. But you have to break through and get a win against one of these teams,” Beavercreek coach Scott Clodfelter said. “Until we believe we can get that win ... ”

Beavercreek got 244 yards against the Greater Western Ohio Conference’s stingiest defense (204 yards per game). Getting into the end zone proved more difficult.

The Beavers’ (4-6, 0-5) best chance came trailing 7-0 in the second quarter but a fumble on Northmont’s 10-yard line stopped it. The Beavers never got closer than the T-Bolts’ 44 again.

“That might be the best defense we’ve seen,” Clodfelter said.

How tough was that defense? Beavercreek running back Gabe Henry needed 41 yards to reach 1,000. Unofficially, he finished with minus-2 yards on 10 carries.

Northmont (6-4, 3-2) led 7-0 in the first quarter when Brandon Reamon got a step behind the defender for a 61-yard touchdown pass.

Korey Ringer added a 1-yard TD run and stiff-armed his way to a 78-yarder in the second quarter. Xavior Johnson capped the scoring with his 55-yard interception return late in the fourth.

Score by QUARTERS	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT	Final
Northmont (6-4)	7	14	0	7	-	28
Beavercreek (4-6)	0	0	0	0	-	0

FIRST QUARTER
N: Brandon Reamon 61 pass from Robert Sakosky (Brad Fischer kick)

SECOND QUARTER
N: Korey Ringer 1 run (Fischer kick) N: Ringer 78 run (Fischer kick)

FOURTH QUARTER
F: Xavior Johnson 55 interception return (Fischer kick)

Dayton Daily News Game Stats
October 24, 2009 Defensive Stats

Northmont bounces back with big plays against Fairmont

By David DiCenzo, Contributing Writer

CLAYTON — The Northmont High School football team relieved some stress Friday, Oct. 23. A week after a humbling 32-0 loss to Centerville, Northmont produced huge plays on both sides of the ball to crush the Fairmont Firebirds 47-20 on senior night at Good Samaritan Stadium.

Northmont (5-4, 2-2 Greater Western Ohio Conference Central Division) had 101 yards of offense last week but the unit rolled over Fairmont with 338 yards. The defense added five interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns, one each from Xavior Johnson (seven interceptions this season) and Ian Gordon.

“Our kids have done a great job of staying focused all year,” said Northmont coach Lance Schneider, who clarified that his critical comments last week weren’t directed at the players. “I’m very proud of them.”

Four Northmont touchdowns in just over 11 minutes sank Fairmont (4-5, 2-2).

Josh McClain’s 10-yard touchdown reception with 46 seconds left in the first quarter gave Northmont a 13-0 lead, but Fairmont responded with an 86-yard Sherman Wilkinson TD on the subsequent kickoff to keep the Firebirds in it.

Paul Winkler ran one in from 14 yards out 21 seconds into the second quarter, and the hosts struck again at 8:26 when Gordon intercepted a Nick Bower pass and scored on a 24-yard return.

Andrew Butts added a 39-yard touchdown grab to put Northmont up 34-7 at halftime.

“We’re banged up from last weekend,” said Fairmont coach Brian Blevins, referring to a flu outbreak that hit half his team and three coaches. “I’ve never experienced this.

“It’s not an excuse, because Northmont had the same thing against Wayne, and they were able to win that week.”

Northmont’s big plays came early.

Johnson’s sixth interception gave the Bolts their first possession, and they immediately set the tone with Korey Ringer. The senior running back busted a few big gains before plunging into the end zone from a yard out.

Northmont quarterback Robert Sakosky threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns but had two picks, one that Matt Jackson returned for a touchdown early in the second quarter.

Brad Fischer added two 27-yard field goals.

Score by QUARTERS	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT	Final
Northmont (5-4)	13	21	10	3	-	47
Fairmont (4-5)	7	0	7	6	-	20

FIRST QUARTER
N: Korey Ringer 1 run (Brad Fischer kick) N: Josh McClain 10 pass from Robert Sakosky (kick fail) F: Sherman Wilkinson 86 kickoff return (Tom West kick)

SECOND QUARTER
N; Paul Winkler 14 run (Fischer kick) N: Ian Gordon 24 INT return (Fischer kick) N: Andrew Butts 39 pass from Sakosky (kick fail)

THIRD QUARTER
F: Matt Jackson 49 INT return (West kick) N: Fischer 27 FG N: Xavior Johnson 71 INT return (Fischer kick)

FOURTH QUARTER
B: Fischer 27 FG F: Brad Hack 35 run (kick fail)

Dayton Daily News Game Stats
October 17, 2009 Defensive Stats

Centerville capitalizes on Northmont's errors

By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer

CLAYTON — After the jubilant Centerville High School football players started coming out of the dressing room following a round of cheers, Elks coach Ron Ullery shook his head.

“I don’t know if there are words,” Ullery said, “for the way our defense played tonight.”

On a night when the Centerville offense did not meet its lofty offensive averages, the defense dominated against Northmont in a 32-0 victory Friday, Oct. 16.

The Thunderbolts (4-4, 1-2) gained just 101 yards as the Elks (7-1, 3-0) got four field goals from Chris Kuzma and a pair of short scores from fullback Nick Miller to pull away as the top area Division I team in the Miami Valley.

Five key Centerville defensive or special teams plays — an interception, a fumble, two blocked punts and a failed fake field goal by Northmont — all set up the Elks in Northmont territory, and the Elks capitalized with points all five times.

“Our defense is what really won the game,” said Centerville quarterback Zak Bertram. “That was probably their best game of the season.”

Centerville gained just 177 rushing yards, but the Elks capitalized on Northmont mistakes to take pressure off of its offense.

“We just don’t value the football,” Northmont coach Lance Schneider said. “I would say we should punt on first down, but we would probably get it blocked.”

Centerville scored the game’s first points when a 51-yard pass from Bertram to Tristin Boykin set up Kuzma for a 34-yard field goal (he later connected from 40, 32 and 20 yards) with 9:16 left in the second quarter. The Elks then got 16 more second-quarter points and led 19-0 at halftime.

Boykin’s 103 rushing yards for Centerville helped set up three second-half scores.

Score by QUARTERS	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT	Final
Northmont (4-4)	0	0	0	0	-	0
Centerville (7-1)	0	19	3	10	-	32

SECOND QUARTER
C: Chris Kuzma 34 FG C: Zak Bertram 1 run (Kuzma kick) C: Kuzma 40 FG C: Nick Miller 2 run (kick fail)

THIRD QUARTER
C: Kuzma 32 FG

FOURTH QUARTER
C: Kuzma 20 FG C: Miller 1 run (Kuzma kick)

Englewood Independent Game Stats
October 15, 2009 Defensive Stats

Northmont Upset by Pesky Wildcats

By Michael Lewis

Robert Sakosky had one final chance to put his team on top. With 0:02 remaining in the game, Sakosky dropped back to pass and put everything he could behind his last second heave to the end zone, but came up short as the ball was intercepted by Springfield's Devonte Moore to put the finishing touches on the Wildcats' 21-18 upset of Northmont last Friday at Evans Stadium.
The stats said the Thunderbolts should have won the game. NOrthmont lead Springfield in total offense 216 to 165 and had 15 first downs compared to the Wildcats' 8. The telling stat was the turnovers. On a night with constant rain and a muddy field, Northmont had four turnovers to Springfield's one, including two devastating interceptions by the Wildcats.
"It comes down to the turnovers," Northmont head coach Lance Schneider said. "We lost to a team we shouldn't have lost to. It was one of those things where the elements leveled the playing field and we turned the ball over."
The Thunderbolts were able to take advantage of their only turnover by putting the first points of the game on the board after they were forced to punt. Springfield's Josh Bass muffed the punt and Kaleb Ringer was able to fall on the ball at the Springfield two-yard line. Korey Ringer punched the ball into the end zone on the Bolts' next play from scrimmage, giving Northmont the 7-0 lead after the extra point with 2:52 remaining in the first quarter.
The Northmont defense played strong, giving Sakosky and the bolts offense the ball back before the end of the quarter. The junior came back to commit his first major mistake of the game. With Northmont driving, Sakosky threw the ball to a waiting Onslow Williams who took the interception 58 yards deep into Northmont territory. Three plays and 12 yards later, Springfield's George Walker took the ball on the quarterback keeper six yards into the end zone to tie the game at 7-7 with 11:54 remaining in the half.
After a Northmont punt, Springfield's offense was able to move the ball against the Thunderbolt defense for the only time in the game. The Wildcats went on a 10-play, 97-yard drive, highlighted by a 31-yard pass from Walker to Lamar Davenport who was tackled at the two-yard line. Trey Depriest ran the ball in for the Wildcats' second score and after they converted a two-point try, Springfield had a 15-7 lead with 4:10 remaining in the half.
Northmont was able to go on a drive of their own during their next possessioni. Led by the running of Ringer, Northmont found itself at the Springfield 17-yard line. Sakosky completed a play action pass to Ringer who took it the remaining yards into the end zone. the Thunderbolt offense came back onto the field for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 15-15 with 1:11 remaining until halftime.
Both offenses came out of halftime struggling to move the ball. After a Springfield three-and-out, Brandon Reamon came up with his biggest punt return of the day, returning the punt 51 yards into Springfield territory.
On third-and-9, Sakosky threw an interception that would end up deciding the game for the Thunderbolts. Sakosky dropped back to pass and threw the ball down the field but into the hands of Springfield's Brent Bush who returned the interception 75 yards for the score. The Wildcats missed the extra point, but still found themselves up by a 21-15 score with 3:35 left in the third quarter.
Northmont was able to cut into the lead on tis next drive. A 23-yard run by Quintin Cooper got the Thunderbolts to the Springfield 10-yard line, but on a third-and three, Reamon was stopped at the line for no gain and Northmont settled for the 22-yard field goal by Reamon to bring the score to 21-18 with 10:31 left in the game.
The Northmont defense held the Springfield offense and got the Thunderbolts the ball back three times including forcing a three and out and giving the offense one final shot with 0:48 remaining in the game.
"That's the problem now," Schneider said. "Our defense is playing really good and our offense is very mediocre." Our offense made some mistakes and you can't make those mistakes no matter who you are playing in this division."
Northmont moved the ball down the field and with 0:02 remaining, Springfield was called for a pass interference stopping the clock and giving Northmont one final chance to go ahead. Sakosky's hail mary came up short and was picked off as time expired and the Thunderbolts were hit with their third loss of the season.
"We've got to get better on the offensive side of the ball," Schneider said. "Or it's going to be a long rest of the season."
Northmont will return home Friday to play the Centerville Elks with kickoff set for 7:30 PM.

Score by QUARTERS	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT	Final
Springfield (5-2)	0	15	6	0	-	21
Northmont (4-3)	7	8	3	0	-	18

FIRST QUARTER
N: Korey Ringer 2 run (Brandon Reaman kick)

SECOND QUARTER
S: George Walker 6 run (Trey DePriest kick) S: Trey DePriest 2 run (Alex Gaskins run) N: Korey Ringer 17 pass from Robert Sakosky (Korey Ringer run)

THIRD QUARTER
S: B.J. Bush 75-yard interception return (kick failed)

FOURTH QUARTER
N: Brandon Reaman 22 field goal

Dayton Daily News
October 3, 2009

Game Stats
Defensive Stats

Northmont capitalizes on Wayne's turnovers

T-Bolts blitz Warriors early with inspired play from Ringer brothers.

By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer

HUBER HEIGHTS — Few Northmont High School football players completely avoided the flu bug this week.

“The guys we can count on,” said coach Lance Schneider, “came to the top this week.”

Two of them are named Ringer. With two interceptions from sophomore Kaleb and 128 rushing yards and two touchdowns by senior Korey, Northmont survived a second-half Wayne rally and won 27-14 on Friday, Oct. 2.

More than 30 Northmont players missed practice this week with flu-like symptoms, and Wayne faced its own injury problems, as star junior quarterback Braxton Miller missed his second straight game with a thigh bruise. In Miller’s place, Wayne started freshman Javon Harrison, who completed 17-of-45 passes for 177 yards but threw five interceptions.

Wayne (3-3) faced a series of misfortunes in the first half, and Northmont (4-2) capitalized. On the opening drive, Kaleb Ringer intercepted and returned 52 yards for a touchdown. Two Warriors possessions later, Wayne failed to score after taking shots from the 2- and 1-yard lines.

Northmont responded with Korey Ringer’s 1-yard score to make it 14-0 with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.

Wayne then drove 15 plays before missing a field goal, and Northmont came back with an 80-yard drive capped by a 13-yard Korey Ringer touchdown. With that, it was 21-0 with 7:22 left in the second quarter.

Wayne scored on a 6-yard run from Harrison on its opening possession of the second half, and Harrison passed 10 yards to Caleb Elkins following a Northmont fumble to climb to within 21-14 with 4:36 left in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter included four combined turnovers, but Northmont held on with an 8-yard touchdown run by Quintin Cooper with 1:33 left to maintain the victory.

Score by QUARTERS	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT	Final
Northmont (4-2)	14	7	0	6	-	27
Wayne (3-3)	0	0	14	0	-	14

FIRST QUARTER
N: Kaleb Ringer 52 int. return (Brandon Reaman kick) N: Korey Ringer 1 run (Reaman kick)

SECOND QUARTER
N: Ko. Ringer 13 run (Reaman kick)

THIRD QUARTER
W: Javon Harrison 6 run (Marshall Newsome kick) W: Caleb Elkins 10 pass from Harrison (Newsome kick)

FOURTH QUARTER
N: Quintin Cooper 8 run (kick fail)

Dayton Daily News
September 26, 2009

Sakosky returns at QB, Northmont strikes often against Fairborn Game Stats

By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer

CLAYTON — Leading Cleveland St. Ignatius in Week 2, the Northmont High School football team took a hit when starting quarterback Robert Sakosky sustained a concussion.

With him back, the Thunderbolts are rolling.

Boosted by the versatility in the passing game Sakosky provides, Northmont took a 37-point halftime lead before beating Fairborn 44-14 on Friday, Sept. 25.

The win moves Northmont to 3-2 after losses to St. Ignatius and Westerville South with Sakosky absent.

“He makes teams defend the whole field,” said Northmont coach Lance Schneider. “The first couple of plays everybody touched the ball. We’re a lot better when we can throw it around.”

Sakosky, in his first action after missing 2½ games, completed 8-of-15 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns running an offense that was aided by running back Korey Ringer, another player who has battled injury. Ringer gained 73 yards on 13 carries and scored twice.

“It’s the first time we’ve played with a full deck all year,” Schneider said.

Sakosky and Northmont came out firing. After an interception by Northmont’s Xavior Johnson on the game’s second play, the Thunderbolts converted for a 6-yard scoring run by Paul Winkler.

The next two scores started with Sakosky’s arm — a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Taylor and a 32-yard, fourth-down scoring pass to Brandon Reaman — as Northmont took a 21-0 lead after the first quarter. Sakosky finished the quarter 6-of-9 passing for 115 yards and two scores.

After a Northmont safety off of a blocked punt by sophomore Jeremy Campbell (his second punt block of the opening half), Ringer got going. The senior ran for 65 yards in the second quarter and scored twice, on runs of 2 and 4 yards.

The 4-yard run came with 1:01 left in the first half and gave Northmont a 37-0 lead, while Fairborn had gained just 15 yards on its first six drives.

Score by QUARTERS	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT	Final
Fairborn (3-2)	0	0	0	14	-	14
Northmont (3-2)	21	16	7	0	-	44

FIRST QUARTER
N: Paul Winkler 6 run (Joel Anderson kick) N: Jordan Taylor 25 pass from Robert Sakosky (Anderson kick) N: Brandon Reaman 32 pass from Sakosky (Anderson kick)

SECOND QUARTER
N: Safety N: Korey Ringer 2 run (Anderson kick) N: Ringer 4 run (Anderson kick)

THIRD QUARTER
N: Tyler Kerlin 5 run (Anderson kick)

FOURTH QUARTER
F: Mike Knox 16 pass from Ryan Cook (Dylan Stegall kick) F: Knox 40 run (Stegall kick)

Englewood Independent
September 24, 2009

Ringer, Bolts run over Xenia Game Stats

By Aaron Roach, Thunderbolt Insider
aaronroach@woh.rr.com

Senior runner gains 152 on ground in home rout

CLAYTON- Korey Ringer rushed for 152 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead Northmont past visiting Xenia, 30-0, Friday night at Good Samaritan Stadium. The Thunderbolts (2-2) controlled the game from the start, finishing with 482 total yards to Xenia’s (1-3) 42.

While Ringer had the big rushing night, it was T-Bolt senior quarterback Tyler Kerlin who opened the scoring with 1:59 remaining in the first quarter on a 15-yard scoring run of his own. Joel Anderson kicked the extra point, giving the ‘Bolts the early advantage at 7-0. Kerlin finished the night 12 of 15 passing for 127 yards, while rushing for 48 on six carries.

Northmont broke the game wide open in the second quarter with two rushing touchdowns, a 23-yard dash from Ringer and a two-yarder from Quintin Cooper. Add in a 19-yard field goal from Anderson as time expired in the half and Northmont took the 23-0 edge to the intermission.

Ringer added his most exciting run of the night, a 62-yard score, after being initially bottled up by the Buccaneer defense, but bounced off a group of defenders and ran down the right sideline into the end-zone only 22 seconds into the third. Anderson closed out the scoring with the extra point, and Northmont held off Xenia, 30-0.

Korey wasn’t the only Ringer hard at work as the ‘Bolts defense was led by sophomore linebacker Kaleb Ringer who was in on six tackles (3 solo). Northmont head coach Lance Schneider points out that linebacker play will continue to be one of the keys to his team’s winning ways, adding “In the 4-3 scheme, linebacker play is paramount to our success. Currently, our front 4 are playing very well, but when our linebackers are unblocked, they must make tackles when the ball comes to them.”

BOLTS BLITZ….. Josh McClain led all receivers with 91 yards on nine catches for the T-Bolts…. Paul Winkler rushed for 60 yards on 10 carries….. Freshman quarterback Cameron Belton took a significant number of snaps and finished with 86 yards passing, going 6 for 9….. Northmont outrushed Xenia 269-3 and held the advantage in first downs for the night 26-3….. Next Up: Homecoming vs. Fairborn on Friday, September 25.

Score by QUARTERS	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	OT	Final
Northmont (2-2)	7	16	7	0	-	30
Xenia (1-3)	0	0	0	0	-	0

FIRST QUARTER
N: Tyler Kerlin 15 run (Joel Anderson kick)

SECOND QUARTER
N: Korey Ringer 23 run (Anderson kick) N: Quintin Cooper 2 run (kick fail) N: Anderson 19 FG

THIRD QUARTER
N: Ringer 62 run (Anderson kick)

Englewood Independent
September 17, 2009

Wildcats scratch T-Bolts, 17-7 Game Stats

By Aaron Roach, Thunderbolt Insider
aaronroach@woh.rr.com

Turnovers, poor tackling doom Northmont

WESTERVILLE- Westerville South’s Jayshan Jackson returned the opening kickoff 71 yards for the Wildcats. Unfortunately for the Northmont Thunderbolts, Jackson’s night was just beginning. Jackson, a junior running back, rushed 32 times for 196 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats over the visiting Thunderbolts, 17-7.

Westerville South (1-2) capitalizing on great field position from the opening kickoff, took an early 3-0 lead on a Clay Propps 20-yard field goal with 7:03 remaining in the first quarter. The drive was kept alive after Jackson rushed for 7 yards on a 4th-and-two from the Northmont 18.

Northmont (1-2) was unable to answer on their first possession. A false-start penalty followed by a fumble, recovered by Wildcat Jamar Williams, gave Westerville South the ball on the Northmont 12. Four plays later, Jackson plunged in from three yards on 4th-and-one. Propps added the extra point, building the ‘Cat lead to 10-0.

South put themselves in great field position, once again, after recovering another T-Bolt fumble, this time on the Northmont 35. Further damage was avoided when Propps was short on a 33-yard field goal attempt.

Northmont head coach Lance Schneider summed up the troubled night by pointing out his team’s mistakes on both sides of the ball, and their need to overcome them if they want this season to be a success. Schneider said if they continue their “lack of detail in fundamental tackling” and failure “to protect the football by continuing to turn it over, we will have difficulty winning any of the remaining games on our schedule.”

Northmont tried to put together a last minute scoring drive before the intermission, but Tyler Kerlin’s pass was intercepted by South’s Derek Jones with eight seconds left in the half. Wildcat quarterback Tevin Favor took a knee and the 10-0 lead into the locker room.

The Wildcats put together an eight play, 67-yard scoring drive, capped off by Jackson’s second score of the night, this time from two yards. Propps handled the extra point, building the lead to 17-0.

The Thunderbolt defense had South facing a fourth-and 1 on the Bolt 3, but promptly jumped offside, giving Jackson and the Cats new life with a first and goal.

Northmont was able to close the Wildcat lead back to 10, immediately answering on their next possession. Korey Ringer added a 3-yard touchdown run with 9:38 remaining. Brad Fischer kicked the extra point to close out the scoring. The drive was a sprinkling of Kerlin runs and passes. The senior quarterback finished the night with 37 yards rushing and 75 passing, but threw two costly interceptions.

Northmont, having already matched last year’s season total of two losses, faces a tough road as they head toward the GWOC Central portion of their schedule, following GWOC cross-over games at home against Xenia and Fairborn.

Schneider knows it is gut-check time for his team, adding, “If they decide to put the team first each and every day, instead of themselves, then we can get the ship going in the right direction, and still realize our annual program goals of winning a league championship and returning to the playoffs. Daily effort in practice and taking care of details on and off the field will determine our success for the rest of the season.”

BOLTS BLITZ….. Paul Winkler led all Northmont rushers with 38 yards on five carries…..The ‘Bolts defense was led by Xavior Johnson, who was in on 12 tackles (7 solo)….. Derek Reynolds averaged 42.2 yards on his five punts, and was also in on four stops from his defensive line position…..Ball State commit Quintin Cooper added 45 receiving yards, 12 rushing yards, 16 return yards, and was a part of 5 tackles from cornerback… Next Up: Friday vs. Xenia at Good Samaritan Stadium.

Dayton Daily News
September 6, 2009

Northmont loses 20-point lead Game Stats

Now the Northmont Thunderbolts know why Cleveland St. Ignatius is a 10-time Division I state football champion.

The Wildcats came all the way back from a three-touchdown deficit to shock Northmont 27-20 at Byers Field in Parma on Saturday night, Sept. 5. St. Ignatius improved to 2-0, while Northmont dropped to 1-1.

Junior quarterback Robert Sakosky threw TD passes of 63 yards to Paul Winkler and 27 yards to Josh McClain in the first half. Xavior Johnson’s 27-yard run on a fake punt — coach Lance Schneider’s gamble on fourth-and-11 at the T-Bolts’ 34-yard line paid off, setting up McClain’s TD.

The lead swelled to 20-0 at 5:08 of the second quarter when Quintin Cooper dashed 11 yards on the first play from scrimmage after St. Ignatius fumbled the kickoff following McClain’s TD.

Schneider called the matchup “a good measuring stick for our program. Last year, we weren’t quite good enough (a 23-3 loss). We hope we’re a little better than we were. We’ve just got to go up there and see where we’re at.”

St. Ignatius played without Ohio State-bound senior linebacker Scott McVey, who suffered a shoulder injury in a 14-13 season-opening win over Cleveland Glenville. McVey’s grandfather is Larry McVey, the former wrestling coach at Fairmont East High School.

Dayton Daily News
August 29, 2009

Team and Individual Stats Link Defensive Stats Link

Northmont edges Lakota West

Winkler scores 11-yard touchdown and Johnson blocks a PAT in a surprise defensive battle.

By Chick Ludwig, Staff Writer 1:57 AM Saturday, August 29, 2009

DAYTON — Paul Winkler was the ice cream. Xavier Johnson was the cake. And Quintin Cooper was almost the candle.

All three played huge roles in Northmont’s 7-6 victory over Lakota West in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown on Friday night, Aug. 28, at Welcome Stadium as the Thunderbolts saved their best for last — the fourth quarter.

Winkler’s 11-yard touchdown run with 9:53 to go was followed by two brilliant plays from his teammates.

Johnson blocked an extra-point kick with 4:16 remaining, preserving Northmont’s one-point lead, then Cooper supplied the finishing touch — a 60-yard interception return down the left sideline as time expired for what appeared to be a touchdown.

But the referees signaled a penalty and the TD was nullified.

“My dad always tells me, ‘Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games,’ ” Cooper said. “So this one’s for you, Pops.”

While Cooper was dedicating the victory to his father, Quintin Sr., Johnson hopes the big-school powers in Cincinnati are taking notice of the Thunderbolts, who travel to Cleveland for a showdown with defending Division I state champion St. Ignatius a week from today.

“I feel we get no respect at all out of the Cincinnati teams,” Johnson said.

Northmont had a 7-0 lead and the ball at its 27-yard line with 5:44 to go when Lakota West linebacker Jordan Hicks — the top-ranked senior in Ohio — blitzed, leaped, tipped and intercepted quarterback Tyler Kerlin’s screen pass and raced to the T-Bolts’ 4-yard line.

Three plays later, Jordan Thompson smashed into the end zone from 2 yards out. But the long snapper and holder had a wobbly exchange, and Johnson smothered the PAT as Northmont kept a 7-6 advantage.

“I had to make a play for our team,” Johnson said.

So did Cooper. Lakota West got the ball back at its 16 with 0:54 remaining — desperation time for QB John Peters.

“I knew the quarterback was going to go deep,” Cooper said. “I could see the pass was going over the receiver’s head.”

Fans who were expecting offensive fireworks were in for a shock — a defensive battle and a 35-minute delay because of lightning at the 5:27 mark of the first quarter.

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