Football Defeats Previously Unbeaten Davenport 30-22

OVERVIEW

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 30, Davenport Panthers 22
RECORDS: Northwood (2-5, 2-3 GLIAC), Davenport Panthers (6-1, 3-1 GLIAC)
LOCATION: Hantz Stadium - Midland, Mich.
RECAP: Northwood hands Davenport their first loss of the season in a 30-22 homecoming victory Saturday afternoon (October 13).

INSIDE THE GAME

• After both teams were not able to muster anything on their first two possessions, Northwood made a big play to get on the board first. Facing a 3rd-and-17 attempt from just across midfield, quarterback Christian Martinez rolled to his right and threw across his body to the opposite side of the field. Gary Landless caught the pass, found a hole, and sprinted 46 yards to the end zone for a touchdown. This put the Timberwolves ahead 7-0 with 1:30 left in the first.
• Davenport responded immediately on their ensuing drive. Aided by an NU pass interference penalty, they were given solid field position at the Northwood 23. Two plays later, a 15-yard rush brought the Panthers down to the goal line, where they would score on the next play via a QB sneak. Marching 77 yards down the field in six plays, DU had the game tied 1:29 into the second.
• Northwood made sure to keep the momentum with a response of their own. A 50-yard rush by Corey Burdgick keyed the seven-play drive, which was capped by a David Riser 33-yard field goal to give Northwood a 10-7 lead.
• The Timberwolves ended the half on arguably the highest note of the season. Taking possession at their own 35 with 1:36 left in the half, the home team was aggressive. Martinez was given the green light on a 4^th-and-5 situation and he converted, finding Jake Vincent for a 20-yard completion to get the Timberwolves down to the 18-yard-line. A pass interference penalty in the end zone on the ensuing play turned out to be a huge break, one that brought the squad down to the 3-yard-line with 4 seconds left. With Riser lining up for a short field goal attempt, NU pulled off some trickery with a fake. Dmitri Abro was the one to take the snap get to the one yard line. He fumbled at the one, which ended up in the endzone. The ball was recovered by Landless for his second touchdown of the day with no time on the clock. Heading into halftime, Northwood had a 17-7 lead and all of the momentum
• Davenport finally provided an answer in the fourth with their biggest pass play in school history. After forcing and recovering an NU fumble at their own 15-yard-line, it took just two plays for them to take advantage. An 86-yard touchdown pass brought the Panthers to within three at 17-14 with 6:56 left in the game.
• NU extended their on their ensuing drive with some good ground work. Starting at their own 45-yard-line, Corey Burdgick got things started with a 16-yard rush to the Davenport 39. Not to be outdone, Abdul Levy followed with a 26-yard run to get the Timberwolves closer at the 11-yard-line. Facing a 3rd-and-7 attempt from the 10 two plays later, Martinez made a big play. Avoiding a sack by moving his feet, he found Jake Vincent for a 10-yard TD rush on the option to provide a 23-14 lead and in turn some breathing room with 4:05 left.
• The Timberwolves padded the lead with an exclamation point score. Stopping Davenport on 4th down deep in their territory, they took possession and went to work. Burning 1:33 in four plays, Martinez fittingly capped an impressive win with a QB sneak touchdown to make it a 30-14 game with just over a minute to play.
• Davenport would add a late score to make it 30-22, but Northwood recovered the onside kick attempt to stall any hopes of a comeback. 

GAME STATS

• FIRST DOWNS: Davenport 17, Northwood 15
• RUSHES-YARDS: Davenport 35-159, Northwood 55-241
• PASSING YARDS: Davenport 195, Northwood 117
• TOTAL OFFENSE, PLAYS-YARDS: Davenport 61-334, Northwood 62-358
• TIME OF POSSESSION: Davenport 26:37, Northwood 33:23

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

• Martinez: 117 yards passing, passing TD, 30 yards rushing, rushing TD
• Abdul Levy: 97 yards rushing
• Corey Burdgick: 84 yards rushing
• Gary Landless: 46 yards receiving, 1 receiving TD, fumble recovery TD, blocked punt
• Travis Wiltjer: Six tackles, 1 tackle for loss
• Dimitri Abro: Six tackles, forced fumble

UP NEXT

• The Timberwolves will travel to Wayne State on Saturday (October 20) for a GLIAC matchup against the Warriors. Game time is set for 6 p.m.