It was a game of big plays and the NMU football team (2-0 GLIAC, 3-0 overall) made plenty of them en route to a 38-17 win over the Northwood University Timberwolves.
The ’Cats offense was firing on all cylinders and scored on big touchdown plays of 91, 43 and 23 yards. Head coach Bernie Anderson said he was impressed with the teams play.
“I thought we struck with the big play, I thought we moved the ball down,” Anderson said. “It was one of our better offense performances. This offense is starting to get use to this system and good things are happening right now.”
Three minutes into the game, senior quarterback Carter Kopach hit sophomore wide receiver Christian Jessie with a 91-yard touchdown bomb. It was only the ’Cats fourth play from scrimmage, but their second touchdown of the quarter.
Kopach leads the team in not only passing yards, but rushing yards as well. He has rushed for 229 yards and passed for 651 yards and seven total touchdowns.
Kopach said all the options make the offense potent; five different Wildcats found the end zone.
“There are a lot of dangerous weapons out here,” Kopach said. It’s kind of like a pick your poison type of offense, and we feel like every one of the guys on the offensive skill positions can score anytime.”
With 5:45 left in the first half, NMU pulled out the flea-flicker to take a 24-7 lead into halftime. Kopach handed the ball off to senior running back John Privitelli, who pitched the ball back to Kopach. The play left senior wide receiver Kyle Senn open for a 43-yard touchdown catch.
“It’s kind of a high-risk, high -reward type of play; but luckily it worked out for us,” Kopach said. “I told Senn before we went out there, get ready if that safety bites; were going to have you on the corner, and that’s what happened.”
The ’Cats, whose 3-0 record is their best start since the 1997 season, racked up 25 first downs and 556 yards of total offense. Senn, who had two catches for 56 yards, said the team has been working on starting strong and carrying that through until the end.
“It was a great team effort,” Senn said. “We came out hot and kind of emphasized all week starting hot and staying the same the whole game, and I thought we did a really good job doing that.”
Northern wasted little time getting their offense rolling as they scored 42 seconds into the game. The first play of the game was a 39-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Christian Marble-King. Two plays later, Privitellie jogged in for a 19-yard touchdown run. Kopach said it helps build momentum when they get on the board early.
“Anytime you can score that quick, it gives you added confidence,” Kopach said. “We’re a pretty confident group; we trust our coaching staff and our mentality going into the game.”
The defense was put to the test against the Timberwolves option offense. Northwood rushed the ball 49 times for 163 yards, averaging only 3.3 yards a carry. Junior defensive end Zach Anderson led the Wildcats with nine tackles and sophomore defensive back Morgan Stenz added seven. Junior linebacker Josh Droese also recovered a fumble to go along with his six tackles.
(Coach) Anderson said he was impressed with defense performance and the energy his team played with.
“We got out here and there was some intensity, some enthusiasm; people were ready,” Anderson said. “The attitude was good, the work ethic was good and I thought we played together as a team.”
The Wildcats take to the road next week to play the Ashland University Eagles at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. in Ashland, Ohio. NMU beat the Eagles (1-1 GLIAC, 1-2 overall) 23-19 last season.
