By Ron Rop
LocalSportsJournal.com
EGELSTON TOWNSHIP – Do not ever downplay the importance of a kicker in high school football.
North Muskegon certainly doesn’t.
North Muskegon’s Drew Gabriel kicks an extra point with James Young (4). Photo/Leo Valdez
The Norsemen relied on kicker Drew Gabriel on Saturday in the most important game of the Norsemen’s season. The sophomore, who won the kicking job on Friday after auditioning along with several of his teammates, was vital in a 28-27 victory over the Pewamo-Westphalia Pirates on Saturday afternoon in a Division 7 regional final game at Oakridge High School.
Gabriel showed Coach Larry Witham the most on Friday and was handed the job. NM’s regular kicker, Owen Booth, who incidentally hit a field goal in the waning seconds in the Week 1 victory over the Pirates, is injured and not available. North Muskegon won that game 17-14.
“Kicking in high school is very important,” said Witham, whose team will take on Menominee in the state semifinals next week. “The young man who kicked those four PATs replaced our all-league kicker and we didn’t know he could kick until Friday night when we were here for practice. He hit 10 in a row and I said, ‘you’re hired.’
“We had three guys trying out and he came out victorious,” said Witham. “Because of him, amongst other things, we’re moving on.”
And, that fourth extra point came with 1:21 left in the game and broke a 27-all deadlock.
North Muskegon’s Lamarkis Graham (10) holds up the regional title trophy. Photo/Leo Valdez
That PAT came after one of those dramatic plays you’ll ever see in a football game.
Faced with a fourth and 5 from the Pirate 11 yard line with 1:34 remaining, NM quarterback James Young scrambled to the left, reversed field and scrambled all the way to the right and had a glimpse of Landon Christiansen running back and forth in the end zone. Young heaved the ball in his direction and the senior wide receiver went up high and pulled down the pass and the game was tied.
“That last play I was taking deep breaths and it came down to one final play,” Christiansen said. “It was a broken play and the ball came and all I could think about was catching it. As soon as I caught it, saw no flags were down, I was crying. It was emotional.
“I just kept going back and forth, I mean, I was getting held, my jersey was getting tugged and I just had to get the guy off me and scramble.”
“We had a roll-out play to the left hoping we could get something to that front pylon,” said Young, who completed 17-of-34 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns. “Their defense played it very well, just like they knew it was coming, so I knew the situation, I knew it was fourth down and I knew I had to make something happen. I trusted my athletes to run with me and I saw my guys and just threw up a wish and Christiansen came down with it.”
It’s those types of plays that Witham expects and that’s why they work on such things.
James Young rushes the ball for North Muskegon with Mitchel Peterson (77) trailing. Photo/Leo Valdez
“We work scramble drills all the time because we know in high school football pass protection is going to break down,” Witham said. “James is a great, great unscheduled runner. He does such a nice job of extending plays with his legs and he keeps his eyes upfield looking for an opportunity to throw it. Landon had kind of a rough day today, but he did a great job on that last one finding a hole in the secondary and came down with a tough catch.”
That catch sent the Norse faithful into a frenzy, with the all-important extra point pending. But once Gabriel split the uprights, the Norsemen were back in the lead.
In the first half, it certainly didn’t appear it would be a nail biter that was decided in the finals seconds.
On the game’s opening drive, North Muskegon took a 7-0 lead on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Young to freshman Cullen Bartos, who finished with 62 yards rushing on 12 carries.
Pewamo-Westphalia did answer back with a touchdown with 5:26 left in the first half on an 8-yard run by senior quarterback Dylan May, who played a strong game guiding the Pirate offense.
North Muskegon went back to work on offense and needed just eight plays to go 75 yards and take the lead. Key plays on the drive were back-to-back passes that both netted more than 20 yards. The first went to Chuck Meyers for 23 yards and on the next play, TJ Byard caught one for 24 yards. Three plays later, junior Drew Bartos ran one in from 3 yards out.
The Pirates took the ball in the final minutes of the half and fumbled, which was recovered by Ben Meyers at the Pirate 23.
Henry Husmann (54) makes the stop for North Muskegon with Layne Brady (60). Photo/Leo Valdez
Young then hit Alec Newville for a 23-yard touchdown pass with 1:33 remaining before halftime and NM led 21-7.
But along came the second half and the momentum took a swing in favor of the visitors.
Pewamo-Westphalia scored on a 23-yard run by workhorse back Brayton Thelen with 9:21 left in the third quarter. A run for the 2-point conversion failed and it was 21-13. Thelen rushed 23 times for 11 yards.
North Muskegon’s next drive lasted just two plays before an interception put the Pirates in business at the NM 25. Four plays later, senior Gabe Miller went up high and pulled down a May pass in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown. May ran in the 2-point conversion and the game was tied at 21.
Both teams struggled moving the ball the remainder of the third quarter meaning the game would be decided in the fourth quarter and possibly overtime.
Pewamo-Westphalia made a strong statement early in the fourth on a 10-play drive, 44-yard drive that culminated with an 8-yard touchdown run by May. However, the extra point sailed wide to the right and the lead was six points at 27-21.
North Muskegon went to work with 6:40 remaining and drove from its own 29 to the Pirate 2. Two incomplete passes from the 2 gave the ball back to the Pirates with 3:29 remaining.
That’s when the Norsemen defense dug deep and forced not only a three-and-out, but a punt from the end zone. Drew Bartos made a key stop on third down that put the Pirates on the 2.
North Muskegon took the punt and began its drive from the 31 with 2:20 remaining. From the Pirate 11, Young threw two incomplete passes to bring on fourth and 5 with 1:34 remaining. That’s when he used his legs to extend the play and found Christiansen in the end zone for the game-winning score.
The Pirates moved the ball to the NM 35 before two incomplete passes gave the ball back to NM, which went into the “victory formation.”
“Give them a lot of credit, they rallied,” Witham said of the Pirates. “We didn’t play our best half of football in the second half. We had a couple of three-and-outs and turned the ball over, but we know, when it mattered the most, we started moving the ball.
“It’s win and advance,” said Witham. “It may not always be pretty, but we’re moving on.”
North Muskegon will take on Menominee at 1 p.m. Saturday at Gaylord High School. The winner advances to Ford Field for the state finals.
