Northmor jumped out to a big first-half lead over host Danville on Friday and never looked back in claiming a 37-7 win.
The Golden Knights, who clinched their third straight playoff berth after the events of the week according to Joe Eitel’s website, opened up the scoring by recording a safety in the first quarter, which they followed by getting a scoring drive capped by a Wyatt Reeder touchdown run. Nate Ruhl added the first of five extra point kicks to give the team a 9-0 lead after 12 minutes of play.
Hunter Mariotti led the team to a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, as he connected with Reeder for scoring passes of 44 and four yards. The team added a defensive score, as Reeder tallied his four touchdown of the game on an interception return.
After Danville scored midway through the third quarter to trim Northmor’s lead to a 30-7 score, the Golden Knights finished off the night’s scoring with a short run by Mariotti to give them a 30-point win.
Mariotti had a big game passing the ball, completing 19-of-22 attempts for 252 yards and a pair of scores. Gavin Ramos caught 10 passes for 63 of that total, while Reeder picked up four passes for 80 yards and also ran for 44 yards.
Highland Scots
Highland couldn’t get things going offensively at Centerburg on Friday in suffering a 21-7 loss that broke a three-game winning streak.
The Scots gave up one touchdown in the first quarter and surrendered a pair of them in the second to fall behind by a 21-0 margin going into the half. After a scoreless third quarter, Highland got on the board in the fourth when quarterback Kadin Johnson sprinted 65 yards for a touchdown. However, they could not cut further into the Trojan lead.
A total of 169 of Highland’s 190 yards came on the ground, with Jack Weaver netting 89 of that total and Johnson finishing with 67.
Cardington Pirates
East Knox had too much offense for Cardington on Friday, as the host Bulldogs ran away with a 65-20 win.
East Knox jumped out to a big first-quarter lead, as they scored four touchdowns to hold a 28-0 advantage. While the Pirates got on the board in the second period on a short rushing touchdown by Joe Denney, they still trailed 44-7 at the half. The team ran for two more scores in the fourth quarter, on runs of 33 and 53 yards by Ashton Plowman, but were unable to get back into the game against the Bulldogs.
Plowman finished with 105 yards on the ground to lead the Cardington offense, which finished with 237 yards in the game.
