Spreading The Wealth: Football Gets First Win Of The GMAC Era Versus KWC, 55-13

OVERVIEW 
SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 55, Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers 13
RECORDS: Northwood (1-0, 1-0 GMAC), Kentucky Wesleyan (0-1, 0-1 GMAC)
LOCATION: Hantz Stadium – Midland, Mich.
RECAP: Football opens play in their new conference in style with a 55-13 win over Kentucky Wesleyan Saturday (September 3).

INSIDE THE GAME

• The first drive of the game saw the Timberwolf defense contain Kentucky Wesleyan to 12 yards. Brock Cook picked up a sack for a loss of seven yards to force 4^th and 18 for the Panthers.
• On the following punt, Tajae Leslie returned the KW punt 36 yards to the Northwood 46. A 24-yard completion from Nate Gomez to Shamarr Wright gave the Timberwolves 1st and 10 at the 30-yard line. Max Gonos capitalized the drive with a 43-yard field goal to give NU the 3-0 lead four minutes into the contest.
• The Timberwolves forced a fumble on the Kentucky Wesleyan punt return to end the first quarter. The fumble was forced by Kyle Main and recovered by Malik Edmundson to give NU possession. Northwood went on to take the lead thanks to a 33-yard field goal by Gonos with 12:30 remaining in the second.
• Cook then forced another fumble for the Timberwolves in the second quarter, giving NU possession on their own 44-yard line. An 11-yard rush by Ethan Whitley moved Northwood up the field. Gomez then completed a deep 60-yard pass to John Hall for a Timberwolf touchdown. Gonos added an extra point to put NU up 13-0.
• The Panthers' following drive was short lived, broken up by a Dylan Zagula interception on the Wesleyan 28 after just one play. Northwood then used five plays to find the endzone, capped off with a 3-yard touchdown rush by Whitley with 24 seconds remaining in the half.
• Kentucky Wesleyan was able to then reach the Northwood 14, ending the half with a 31-yard field goal to get on the board as the Timberwolves carried their 20-3 lead into half time.
• Northwood carried their momentum into the third quarter. A 38-yard completion from Gomez to Seamus Conway brought NU to the KW 37. Gomez went on to finish the drive with a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 10:56 to go in the third. The extra point by Gonos pushed the Timberwolf lead to 27-3.
• The Panthers responded with a touchdown of their own, traveling 80 yards over eight plays to put the score at 27-10 with 8:10
• In quick succession, the Northwood offense extended their lead to 34-10 with 7:04 remaining in the third quarter. NU needed just four plays as Leslie rushed 63 yards to the endzone and Gonos converted the extra point.
• The strong offense from both teams continued in the third quarter. Kentucky Wesleyan converted a 49-yard field goal to make it 34-13 with 2:47 remaining in the third quarter.
• A deep 57-yard pass to Hall brought NU within a few yards of the end zone. A Gomez 3-yard rush then added six points for the Timberwolves. Gonos then made it seven as the Timberwolves stretched their lead to 41-13 going into the final quarter.
• An interception by Noah Brown gave the Timberwolves possession again. With 10:42 remaining in the game, Jacob Kelbert found Shammon Gennes from 18 yards for another Northwood touchdown to put the score at 48-13.
• Northwood continued to turn defense into offense, extending their advantage to 55-13 with a 59-yard interception return for a touchdown by Obie Ricumstrict with under nine minutes to go. This proved to be the final scoring for either team in the contest.

GAME STATS

• FIRST DOWNS: Northwood 18, Kentucky Wesleyan 18
• RUSHES-YARDS: Northwood 35-163, Kentucky Wesleyan 25-33
• PASSING YARDS: Northwood 265 (13-24, 2 TD, 0 INT), Kentucky Wesleyan 267 (26-45,  1 TD, 3 INT)
• TOTAL OFFENSE, PLAYS-YARDS: Northwood 59-428, Kentucky Wesleyan 70-300
• TIME OF POSSESSION: Northwood 27:10, Kentucky Wesleyan 32:50

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

• Hall: 146 yards receiving, TD
• Gomez: 12-22, 247 yards, TD, two rushing TDs
• Leslie: 63 rushing yards, TD
• Whitley: 61 rushing yards, TD
• Gennes: 33 receiving yards, TD
• Kelbert: TD
• Slaughter: Seven tackles, Five tackles for los
• Ricumstrict: INT, TD
• Brown, Zagula: INT

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will stay at home to host Madonna next Saturday (September 10). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.