By Ron Rop
LocalSportsJournal.com

NORTH MUSKEGON – Junior kicker Owen Booth was the man of the hour for the North Muskegon Norsemen on Friday night.

Booth calmly and confidently drilled a 23-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in the game and sparked the Norsemen to a 17-14 victory over visiting Pewamo-Westphalia.

It was North Muskegon’s first victory over the Pirates after two previous playoff losses.

And on the subject of playoffs, could these two Division 7 powers meet again somewhere down the road?

While that may be in the future of both teams, the focus at hand was the well-played football opener for both teams.

And, of course, Booth’s kick.

Photo/David Reid

“I was really nervous, but I was feeling confident,” said the junior kicker, who kicked for the jayvee team last season. “It was just like a PAT and I’m pretty automatic on those. It was a little to the left, but it went in.”

Long before the heroic kick, the Norsemen opened the game with a 15-play scoring drive that culminated with a 3-yard touchdown pass from junior James Young to senior Ben Meyers. Booth’s extra point made it 7-0 after a drive that took nearly eight minutes off the first-quarter clock.

The Pirates staged their own 15-play drive in the second quarter. Senior quarterback pulled the visitors to within a point with a 2-yard run into the end zone with 4:06 left till halftime. The kick failed and the Norsemen had the slim lead and that’s the way the half ended.

Pewamo-Westphalia took the second-half kickoff  and started driving. That’s when the North Muskegon defense stood tall and stopped the Pirates near midfield on a fourth down play.

“Our defense was unbelievable,” Witham said. “That’s a very high-power offense and they pound the crap out of just about everybody they play. But, our defense has been solid for years. Our defense was rock solid. We had a couple of turnovers. It was just a lot of fun to watch them.”

Photo/David Reid

The Pirates’ next drive was halted by an interception by North Muskegon junior Chuck Meyers.

In the fourth quarter, Young connected on a long pass down the right sideline to Landon Christensen that covered 38 yards and, after Booth’s extra point, put the hosts up 14-6.

Pewamo-Westphalia wasn’t finished. With 4:36 remaining in the fourth quarter, North Muskegon had a miscue on a punt and the Pirates took over near midfield.

A seven-play drive, highlighted by a 21-yard pass play from Dylan May to William Bengel put the Pirates in the red zone. Two plays later, Brayton Thelen darted into the end zone from 3 yards out. May dove just over the goal line on the 2-point conversion and the game was tied at 14-all with 1:25 remaining.

Senior speedster Alec Newville took the ensuing kickoff in stride at the 19-yard line and wasn’t stopped until he crossed midfield to the Pirate 45.

A Young pass to TJ Byard covered 28 yards to the 17. Two plays later, Young scrambled for a nine-yard gain then a five-yard gain. That set up Booth for his last-second heroics.

Young, who directed the offense with poise, was pressured quite heavily at times by the Pirate defense. He finished with 10 carries for 35 yards. Ben Meyers also had 10 carries for 35 yards.

Young completed 16 of 27 passes fo 195 yards and two touchdowns. Byard had six catches for 76 yards and Christiansen had four catches for 53 yards.

Ben Meyers also led the defense with 11 tackles. AJ Larkin also had a strong game with 10 tackles, one fumble recovery and an interception. Tristan Thomas had eight stops.

“We’re opportunistic, I guess,” Witham said. “We’re not very big, but we’re very fast and we’ve got good team speed and that’s what we rely on – flying to the football.

“It was a great high school football game in Division 7,” Witham said. “We may very well see those guys again.”

The NM celebration won’t last too long. Preparation for a trip to Muskegon Catholic next week begins on Sunday.

Photo/David Reid

Photo/David Reid