BOX SCORE AND STATS
2003 Season

Northwest 54, River View 2
at Smilek Stadium

River View 2 0 0 0 — 2
Northwest 14 21 7 12 — 54

NW—Butzer 32 run (Brandon Kosco kick)
NW—Butzer 19 run (Kosco kick)
RV—Saftey
NW—Butzer 35 run (Kosco kick)
NW—Baiera 14 pass from Kevin Stacy (Kosco kick)
NW—Butzer 1 run (Kosco kick)
NW—Butzer 8 run (Kosco kick)
NW—Butzer 2 run (run failed)
NW—Butzer 30 run (run failed)

Team statistics
Rushing: River View 39-43, Northwest 30-325. Passing: River View 8-18-0-38, Northwest 9-18-1-165. First downs: River View 6, Northwest 20. Fumbles-lost: River View 6-3, Northwest 2-1.

Northwest 32, Norton 14
at Norton H.S.

Northwest 14 12 6 0 — 32
Norton 7 0 7 0 — 14

NW—Baiera 67 pass from Kevin Stacy (Kosco kick)
NW—Weber 34 run (Kosco kick)
NO—Todoroff 48 pass from Matt Malo (Williams kick)
NW—Butzer 47 run (kick failed)
NW—Butzer 5 run (kick failed)
NO—Mang 4 pass from Malo (Williams kick)
NW—Weber 47 run (run failed)

Team statistics
Rushing: Northwest 37-353, Norton 20-59. Passing: Northwest 6-10-0-126, Norton 18-35-1-200. First downs: Northwest 16, Norton 12. Fumbles-lost: Northwest 4-3, Norton 1-0.

Northwest 28, West Branch 0
at Smilek Stadium

West Branch 0 0 0 0 — 0
Northwest 7 7 7 7 — 28

N—Law 3 run (Brandon Kosco kick)
N—Sette 14 pass from Stacy (Kosco kick)
N—Butzer 7 run (Kosco kick)
N—Law 8 run (Kosco kick)

Team statistics
Rushing: West Branch 19-54, Northwest 40-268. Passing: West Branch 15-31-2-127, Northwest 11-16-0-218. First downs: West Branch 11, Northwest 16. Fumbles-lost: West Branch 1-1, Northwest 3-3.

Northwest 41, Marlington 0
at Marlington Stadium

Northwest 7 20 14 0 — 41
Marlington 0 0 0 0 — 0

N—Butzer 2 run (Kosco kick)
N—Butzer 5 run (Kosco kick)
N—Sims 57 interception return (Kosco kick)
N—Sette 11 pass from Stacy (kick blocked)
N—Baiera 61 pass from Stacy (Kosco kick)
N—Law 3 run (Kosco kick)

Team statistics
Rushing: Northwest 35-173, Marlington 34-72. Passing: Northwest 7-11-0-146, Marlington 4-9-1-23. First downs: Northwest 11, Marlington 5. Fumbles-lost: Northwest 6-2, Marlington 1-1.

Northwest 47, Canton South 14
at Smilek Stadium

Canton South 0 0 7 7 — 14
Northwest 20 13 7 7 — 47

N—Baiera 50 pass from Stacy (Kosco kick)
N—Butzer 51 run (Kosco kick)
N—Lowery fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed)
N—Butzer 18 pass from Stacy (kick failed)
N—Butzer 11 run (Kosco kick)
C—Ness 83 run (Dale kick)
N—Butzer 79 run (Kosco kick)
N—Weber 47 run (Kosco kick)
C—Ness 5 run (Dale kick)

Team statistics
Rushing: South 41-190, Northwest 30-365. Passing: South 5-17-1-60, Northwest 5-10-0-131. First downs: South 10, Northwest 17. Fumbles-lost: South 5-4, Nortwest 6-5.

Cody Butzer - career yards - 3,466 (2001-2003)
Scott Crossland - career yards - 3,353 (1981-1983)

LAWRENCE TWP. — The record Cody Butzer broke Friday night gave him a little satisfaction. But not a whole lot.
It was just a bonus.
The Northwest High School senior took the most satisfaction in what his football team accomplished at Smilek Stadium. The Indians moved a step closer to their first Northeastern Buckeye Conference title by beating Minerva, 42-24, in The Repository’s Game of the Week.
In the process of helping his team improve to 8-0, Butzer became the school’s career rushing leader. His 161 yards on 20 carries give him 3,466 career yards, breaking Scott Crossland’s record of 3,353 set from 1981-83.
Butzer broke the record early in the second quarter when he scored the third of his five touchdowns. But he said he wasn’t aware that the 10-yard TD run pushed him past Crossland by a yard.
“I was just worried about the ‘W,’ ” Butzer said.
The Indians would get the ‘W,’ but it did not come nearly as easily as it looked it might. When Butzer scored his third TD to break the record, it gave Northwest a 20-0 lead.
Minerva, riding a six-game winning streak, refused to go quietly into the pleasant fall night. The Lions got as close as 35-24 at the start of the fourth quarter before Northwest closed out the win.
“They’re a good football team, and we knew they were going to get points on the board,” Butzer said.
But no one in the NBC can score like Northwest. The Indians had more than enough firepower to improve to 8-0 overall, 5-0 in the NBC.
“They are big, strong, fast and well-coached,” Minerva head coach Alex Albert said of the Indians. “That’s a tough combination to beat. But we fought right to the bitter end. Our kids have no energy left.”
Butzer supplied Northwest’s early ammo when he scored on a 38-yard run. It came just two plays after Northwest linebacker Antonio Law forced a fumble on a blindside sack.
A couple of minutes later, the Indians struck again after a Minerva punt. Quarterback Kevin Stacy fired a 49-yard pass over the middle to Vinnie Sette to set up a 3-yard Butzer TD run.
The Indians had the ball for all of 55 seconds, and they led 14-0 with 6:58 left in the first.
“Geez ... you don’t want to have come from behind against anyone, much less that team,” Albert said. “They created some of those situations. They’re such a good football team they force you into mental mistakes because you over-try against them.”
As an example, Albert said a variety of his team’s breakdowns, coupled with Law’s own outstanding effort, led to the game’s first big play — the sack and fumble.
“That’s their speed and strength,” Albert said. “You’ve got to give them credit.”
When Stacy lofted a perfect pass on a fade route to Vince Baiera for 54 yards, the Indians were on the move again. Fullback Scott Weber followed with a 16-yard run, and Butzer then scored on his 10-yard run to become Northwest’s all-time rushing leader.
“It’s not just a record for me,” Butzer said. “When someone has a rushing record obviously it’s the line, too.”
Northwest’s starting line features center Broc Dial, guards Brandon Kosco and Jason Mellon and tackles Doug White and Joe Ardman.
At that point, it looked like Northwest was about to cruise to another rout. Instead, Minerva (6-2, 4-1) showed some of its own firepower.
The Lions rallied behind the running of backs Chris Hahn, Brad Cox and Jeb Ford, and the passing by Dan Husted to Derrick McCann and Ford.
A 41-yard TD catch by McCann on a tipped ball on the final play of the first half cut Northwest’s lead to 28-12.
When Cox scored on a 14-yard run late in the third, and Ford scored on a 19-yard screen pass to open the fourth, Minerva was back in it, down 35-24.
The Lions later had the ball twice down 11, but each time Northwest’s defense stepped up. The second stop featured another play by Law, as the senior jumped to make an interception at the Minerva 40.
“Huge interception,” said Northwest head coach Vic Whiting. “Antonio was all over the field for us and was by far our best defensive player. He made a lot of great plays.”
Five plays after the interception, Law’s younger brother, C.J. Law, got into the act. Whiting uses the sophomore some at quarterback, and C.J. came in, audibled to a pass and hit Baiera for an 11-yard TD.
Earlier in the drive, Baiera also made a nice 13-yard catch on a third-and-five to keep the drive alive.
Those big catches by Baiera and Law’s big defensive plays come as no surprise to Whiting. He is used to his senior class making plays at the right time.
“Our seniors play well together,” Whiting said. “This is a very tight team.”
It’s also a team focused on finishing this season right. The Indians are two games from their first 10-0 season and first NBC title. But their focus will be on Friday’s trip to Carrollton.
“We’ll do our thing,” Whiting said, “and take care of business.”

Northwest 33, Carrollton 16
at Carrollton Stadium

Northwest 0 19 8 6 — 33
Carrollton 10 0 0 6 — 16

C—Spears 27 pass from Velane (Velane kick)
C—FG Velane 31
N—Law 3 run (Kosco kick)
N—Weber 6 run (kick failed)
N—Baires 19 pass from Stacy (run failed)
N—Weber 28 run (run failed)
N—Weber 3 run (kick failed)
C—Tharp 13 pass from Fry (kick failed)

Team statistics
Rushing: Northwest 32-193, Carrollton 37-42. Passing: Northwest 9-14-0 138, Carrollton 18-36-3 196. First downs: Northwest 18, Carrollton 15. Fumbles-lost: Northwest 5-3, Carrollton 3-0.

Northwest 53, Rayland Buckeye 0
at Smilek Stadium

Buckeye 0 0 0 0 — 0
Northwest 6 20 27 0 — 53

N—FG Halsar 24
N—FG Haslar 27
N—A. Law 6 run (run failed)
N—Barker 32 run (Baiera pass from Stacy)
N—Baiera 27 pass from Stacy (run failed)
N—Weber 20 run (Haslar kick)
N—Weber 3 run (Haslar kick)
N—A. Law 27 interception return (run failed)
N—C.J. Law 9 run (Haslar kick)

Team statistics
Rushing: Buckeye 36-103; Northwest 44-312. Passing: Buckeye 7-22-3-123; Northwest 8-13-0-186. First downs: Buckeye 10; Northwest 24. Fumbles-lost: Buckeye 1-1; Northwest 2-0.

Northwest vs. Sheridan Article

NEWCOMERSTOWN — There was a lone Lawrence Township police cruiser behind the Northwest team buses outside Lee Stadium on Friday night.
The next time the Indians play Thornville Sheridan, Northwest might want to bring the entire department. One cruiser to provide the escort and the rest to help protect a lead.
The Indians survived a ferocious fourth-quarter comeback by Sheridan and held on for a 28-26 win. It is the first time in school history Northwest has won two playoff games in a season. The win in the Division III regional semifinal pits the Indians against Steubenville next week.
But it wasn’t as easy as it first looked.
It took one whale of a second-half comeback to make it a game, and Sheridan provided it. The Generals came up 25 yards short of scoring a game-winning touchdown with no time on the clock. A fitting ending.
“When they scored right away in the third quarter, I knew it was back on,” Northwest head coach Vic Whiting said. “We talked in the locker room at halftime that those kids were going to come out with their butts on fire and we have to match that intensity. ... They smashed us.”
Northwest cruised to a relatively easy 21-0 halftime lead. The Indians ran one offensive play in the first quarter, and had a 97-yard touchdown, a 7-0 lead and a great deal of momentum.
The first half was all Northwest. The Indians stopped Sheridan on the first possession of the game, and the Generals nailed Northwest inside the 5-yard line, specifically at the 3.
Fear not.
Quarterback Kevin Stacy took a three-step drop and looked for Vince Baiera who lined up at split end on the wide side of the field. Baiera ran a slant route, and Stacy hit him in stride. Baiera ran through an arm tackle at the 20 and was gone. He outran the entire Sheridan defense down the middle of the field.
It was a gutsy call given the field position.
“We script the first 10 plays of the game,” Whiting said. “I don’t think they were ready for it. They had their best on our best and we ran play-action off tackle, which is a common play down there.”
Two wide receivers opposite of Baiera pulled the free safety away from the middle of the field and opened a large seam for Baiera to catch the ball and run to the end zone.
“We knew they were coming out all fired up,” Baiera said. “You just try to catch them when they aren’t ready.”
Northwest punted on its next possession, but Stacy did not lose confidence in his arm. On the next possession, he dropped back to pass on second down. He had plenty of time to throw the ball and found Ryan Wallace wide open in the middle of the field near the Sheridan 20. Wallace caught the ball, broke a tackle and cut to the right for a 58-yard touchdown pass.
Stacy was finished completing passes in the first half at that point. He connected on 2-of-7 throws for 155 yards and two touchdowns.
He did the rest with his legs.
Baiera was in the right place at the right time when Sheridan fullback Ed Fellows was hit hard and the ball was jarred loose. Baiera fell on it at the Indians’ 38.
That could have been the back breaker for the Generals. They were driving to make it a one-score game.
Instead, Stacy spun out of a sack on second down and ran for 13 yards to the Sheridan 47. Weber did most of the rest. He carried seven times for 34 yards and got the ball to the 4. Stacy ran right on an option keeper and stretched the ball over the goal line for a 4-yard touchdown run. Kicker Jared Haslar nailed a 30-yard PAT after two Northwest penalties, and the Indians led 21-0.
As much as the game was all Northwest in the first half, Sheridan owned the second half.
After the quick third-quarter score made it 21-7 Northwest, the Indians answered when sophomore running back Scott Weber broke off a 29-yard run with 2:14 left in the third quarter.
“Up front is where the real war was, and that’s where they had their big dogs and constantly destroyed Dover with last week,” Whiting said. “We won the battle in the trenches and that’s where the game was won.”
In the fourth quarter, trailing 28-7, Sheridan came back with new life. Running back Steve Shriner scored on a 4-yard run, which was set up by a a key third-and-5 pass from Jordan Rhodes to Kyle Holbrook. But the touchdown was tainted when the PAT kick sailed wide right and changed the complexion of the game.
However, Northwest got a little cute with the lead. The Indians, instead of running the ball to take time off the clock, threw four straight passes, three of which fell incomplete. A third-down pass that might have led to a touchdown was dropped. At any rate, the Indians took about 80 seconds off the clock.
“They were bringing seven and eight guys after us,” Whiting said. “There were some plays there we have to make. When they outnumber you in the box like that, you have to throw the football. ... We made a lot of mental errors on both sides of the ball.”
About seven minutes later, Josh Coleman caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Shriner on fourth down. Shriner took the pitch and looked to run around the right end. He pulled up and hit a wide-open Coleman to make it 28-19. The Generals elected to go for two points on the conversion, but the pass was knocked down by C.J. Law.
That was an important play because the game remained a two-score game for Sheridan with time running out.
“They just kept coming out and going and going,” Baiera said. “We just kept trying to bend, bend, bend and not break.”
The Generals switched quarterbacks after taking over at the Northwest 48 with 2:56 left in the game. Josh Barrera came in. He does not start, but he leads the team in passing yardage. His first pass of the game was a 43-yard toss to Josh Davy in the right flat. Baiera, who plays cornerback, gambled and nearly picked off the ball. Instead, it opened up a big chunk of real estate for Davy.
“I teach my kids to go for the win,” Whiting said. “If he gets the interception it’s 6 points. I don’t mind that because it’s an aggressive play.”
Two plays later, Holbrook caught a 5-yard pass from Rhodes with 2:21 left in the game to cut into Northwest’s lead, 28-26.
Nerves?
“I’m not comfortable until there are zeroes on the clock,” Whiting said. “I don’t take anyone or anything for granted. ... They threw the ball on us, and that’s upsetting. There threw rainbows at times, and we watched them catch it. We’ll get that corrected.”
The Indians recovered an onside kick with 2:19 left. They ran three running plays, but had two penalties that stopped the clock. Sheridan took over with four seconds left and needed 62 yards for a win. The Generals got 37.
The Indians survived. They are 12-0 for the first time in school history.
“A win’s a win baby, and I’ve got to be proud of the way we played because we’re moving on,” Whiting said. “But where we want to go, we have to play better.”
By now, the cruiser was warming up for the escort home.

Northwest vs. Steubenville Article

MASSILLON — The long tradition of winning football at Steubenville High School comes, in large part, from players who set a higher standard for themselves.
Big Red head coach Reno Saccoccia came into his team’s locker room at halftime Friday night and was a bit taken aback by what he saw.
“Some of my players were so frustrated, they were crying,” Saccoccia said. “They were telling me they stunk. I didn’t say that. They said that. And we were up 14-0.”
Even the most demanding Steubenville player would have something to smile about before the night was over, however — a shutout of one of the most potent offensive attacks in high school football. The Big Red took advantage of Northwest mistakes and made their biggest plays at the most crucial moments to win 28-0 in the Division III, Region 11 finals at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.
The victory sends Steubenville (13-0), Ohio’s No. 1 ranked team in Division III, into next week’s state semifinals. Northwest finished 12-1.
“I thought we were pretty solid on defense, hanging in there like we did against a team averaging 40 points a game,” said Saccoccia.
Steubenville’s defense limited Northwest to 182 yards total offense and allowed the Indians to penetrate the 20-yard line just once. The Big Red also got some help from an unexpected source — its opponent.
“We ended up shooting ourselves in the foot,” Northwest coach Vic Whiting said. “You can’t turn the ball over against a team like that, and we did. We made mistakes at very bad times.”
Steubenville scored the first two times it touched the ball in the second half to change the tenor of what had been a hard-hitting, hard-fought game.
Jeremy Pressley of the Big Red fielded the second-half kickoff at his 25, broke out of a crowd of players at midfield, then rocketed down the left sideline for a 75-yard touchdown that widened the gap to 21-0.
A fake punt by Northwest on its first drive of the half ended up a yard shy of the first down. Steubenville then drove 69 yards for its final score of the evening, a 6-yard TD run by running back Nate Hubbard with 4:09 remaining in the third quarter that extended the lead to 28-0.
“We got lucky on that kickoff return,” Saccoccia said. “Everyone at this level is both good and lucky. We were just extra lucky on that play.”
The Indians, conversely, were extra unlucky most of the night.
Northwest moved the ball consistently throughout the first half. But, every time the goal line came into view, something went wrong.
And that something often was a pretty big something.
Northwest rolled to the Steubenville 34 on its first drive, but two penalties — one for a block in the back, the other an illegal substitution — forced the Indians to punt. A low snap bounced off the turf, under the punter’s hands, and 24 yards in the wrong direction.
“That was our first bad snap of the year,” Whiting said.
Hubbard carried the ball on six of the seven plays required for the Big Red to score. He went off-tackle left for the final 8 yards, crossing the goal line standing up to put Steubenville ahead 7-0.
Northwest moved to the Steubenville 19 on its second drive, but runs on third and fourth down netted only a yard and left the Indians 2 yards short of a first down.
The Indians’ third drive died an untimely death on the Steubenville 34 when Northwest was penalized for a false start on fourth-and-2. A 55-yard field goal attempt fell well short of the goal post.
The Indians, despite their difficulties, were still very much in the game — until two big plays by the Big Red took them out of it.
The Northwest defense backed up Steubenville to its 12, and a short punt would have given the ball to the Indians inside the Big Red 40. Northwest fumbled the return, however, and Steubenville recovered.
Four plays later, the Big Red faced fourth-and-one at its own 48. Saccoccia gambled, and the payoff was substantial.
Quarterback Antonio Magnone took the snap and immediately flipped an option pitch to Hubbard, speeding toward the right sideline. Hubbard wriggled away from one tackler and, ignoring the fact he was now wearing one shoe, sprinted 52 yards to widen Steubenville’s lead to 14-0.
Hubbard finished with 121 yards rushing on 14 carries. Northwest sophomore tailback Scott Weber accumulated 103 yards on 17 carries.
The game was stopped during Steubenville’s first possession when Northwest defensive tackle Andrew Henry was injured while stopping Hubbard for no gain. Henry was taken off the field on a stretcher. He was being treated in the Aultman Hospital emergency room, but no report on his condition was available.
When the contest ended, Northwest players lined up on the far hashmark to applaud Steubenville as the Big Red received its regional championship trophy. Steubenville’s players then jogged across the field to congratulate Northwest on a fine season, the Indians’ third consecutive appearance in the state playoffs.
“I told our players not to hang their heads,” Whiting said. “What counts is not what you don’t have, but what you do have. We have 12 wins, a (Northeastern Buckeye Conference) championship and a regional runnerup trophy. Our players are disappointed because they didn’t have their finest game when they needed it. But, no matter how you look at it, we had a great year.”