Football Improves To 2-0 With 47-34 Win At Missouri S&T

OVERVIEW – MISSOURI S&T

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 47, Missouri S&T Miners 34
RECORDS: Northwood (2-0), Missouri S&T (0-2)
LOCATION: Allgood-Bailey Stadium – Rolla, Mo.
RECAP: Northwood moves to 2-0 on the season thanks to big plays in all three phases in a 47-34 road win over Missouri S&T Saturday night (September 9).

INSIDE THE GAME

• Northwood got out to a great start, thanks to a big play on defense. Senior Nick Tripp intercepted a pass on the third offensive play of the game, giving the Timberwolves the ball on the S&T 35 yard line.
• Seven plays later, Joe Garbarino found Vashon Nutt on a five-yard touchdown pass, giving NU a 7-0 lead just over four minutes into the game.
• After a three-and-out on defense, Northwood put together another scoring drive.
• Northwood extended their lead around midway through the second quarter. After a NU went 42 yards in 12 plays, capped by a David Riser 31-yard field goal to put NU on top 10-0 with 4:55 remaining in the first.
• Missouri S&T found their offensive rhythm on the following series. The Miners went 79 yards in seven plays to score a touchdown, cutting the Northwood advantage to 10-7 with just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter. That proved to be the score at the end of the first.
• Northwood made it three straight scoring drives to start the game on their following series. An 11-play, 66-yard drive was capped by a Riser 26-yard field goal to make the score 13-7 with 11:40 remaining in the first half.
• After a stop on defense and a 32-yard punt return by Dwignt Blakey, Northwood wasted no time putting seven more points on the board. Garbarino found John Hall for a 34-yard TD on the first play of the drive, putting the Timberwolves on top 20-7.
• Northwood extended their lead on their next drive. Riser made his third field goal of the night, this time from 23-yards out, to cap a 40 yard drive. That made the score 23-7 with 5:05 remaining in the first half.
• Later in the half, the two teams exchanged touchdowns in a span of just 18 seconds. Northwood blocked a punt in the end zone, which was fallen on by Allante Shy for a touchdown to make the score 30-7.
• But S&T responded right away, scoring just 18 seconds later. After a good kick return, the Miners scored on a 40-yard TD on a reverse. That made the score 30-14 at the 3:22 mark.
• Both teams had chances to add to their score total, but both missed field goal attempts in the final minutes of the opening half, sending the game to the break with NU leading 30-14. Northwood finished with a 207-166 edge in total yards and a 14-6 edge in first downs in the opening half.
• On their second possession of the second half, Northwood extended their lead. Garbarino scored on a two-yard TD run to end an eight-play, 23-yard drive that put the Timberwolves on top 37-14.
• The Miners wasted no time responding, scoring a touchdown on a two-play, 81-yard drive that made the score 37-21.
• After Chad Samuels got Northwood an interception late in the third quarter, Northwood put three more points on the board on the following drive. Riser connected on a career-long 47-yard field goal to make the score 40-21 with 14:12 remaining.
• Missouri S&T did not quit, however, scoring a touchdown to make it a two-possession game at 40-27. The Miners then got the ball back with less than six minutes remaining, but the Timberwolves defense held to give the ball back to Northwood.
• The Timberwolves then put up a big play right away, as Dominick Giovinazzo scored on a 48-yard TD run two plays into the next possession to make the lead 47-27.
• The Miners weren't quite done at that point, as they returned the following kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to make it 47-34.
• Northwood recovered the ensuing onside kick and then proceeded to run out the clock, giving the Timberwolves the victory.

GAME STATS

• FIRST DOWNS: Northwood 20, Missouri S&T 16
• RUSHES-YARDS: Northwood 58-200, Missouri S&T 17-24
• PASSING COMPLETIONS-ATTEMPTS-YARDS: Northwood 13-23-144, Missouri S&T 16-33-374
• TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS: Northwood 81-344, Missouri S&T 50-398
• THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS: Northwood 8-19, Missouri S&T 0-19
• TIME OF POSSESSION: Northwood 39:27, Missouri S&T 20:33

STAT LEADERS

• Joe Garbarino: 13-22 passing, 144 yards, 2 TD's, 30 yards rushing, 1 TD
• Dominick Giovinazzo: 15 carries, 107 yards TD
• John Hall: 5 receptions, 60 yards, TD
• Charles Williams: Three sacks
• Hunter Scott: 2.5 sacks

GAME NOTES

• This is the first 2-0 start for Northwood since the 2012 season.
• Giovinazzo, who is a junior, had a total of three carries for nine yards in career prior to his 107-yard performance.

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will play their first home game of the season next Saturday (September 16) against Ashland. Game time is set for 1 p.m.