Abe Ridlen got the ball rolling for Northwestern Friday night — literally.
A member of Northwestern’s kickoff coverage team, Ridlen forced a fumble on the game’s opening kickoff, which the Tigers recovered on the Taylor nine yard line. It was all downhill from there.
Northwestern running back Michael Schulte scampered around the right side for a touchdown on the next play and the Tigers never let the Titans back in the game, rolling to a 42-0 victory at Taylor.
The Tigers (4-1, 2-1 Mid-Indiana Conference) established control instantly. After forcing Taylor into a quick punt on the Titans’ first possession, Northwestern again struck on its first play. This time, Schulte had a wide-open passage around the left side and blazed 71 yards for his second score just 93 seconds into the game.
“You can’t script that out any better,” NW coach John Hendryx said of his team’s quick opening flurry. Those two scores “took their emotion a little bit. It was [Taylor’s] homecoming, they were pretty fired up to play and I thought we just kind of took that away, and it elevated our [emotion] because I thought we were a little flat. It was a perfect start for us.”
It was a nightmare for Taylor (1-4, 0-3 MIC).
“It puts pressure on you when you turn the ball over on the kickoff,” Taylor coach Josh Ousley said. “It really took a lot out of us.”
Schulte didn’t score again, but ran another 10 times and racked up 139 yards on the ground.
“There were some amazing holes open, it was just right there,” Schulte said. “There were some great blocks going on and I got into the open and I just went.”
He wasn’t the only beneficiary of Northwestern’s punishing ground game. Schulte partnered with Derek Mumaw, who ran 10 times for 46 yards. In total, Northwestern ran 37 times for 285 yards. Backup quarterback Tanner Martin added another 49 yards on five carries and Luke Miller ripped off 32 yards on three rushes. In the second quarter, Mumaw added a four-yard TD run and Austin Henderson scored on a two-yard TD run.
Northwestern passed just nine times, with starting QB Trevor Gibson completing four passes for 44 yards.
“I thought our offensive line played well,” Hendryx said. “We knew they’d come out and try to get a lot of pressure on Gibson, but we weren’t planning to throw a whole lot, just get the run game going because of it. If [Taylor’s defense is] going to bring a lot of heat up the inside, it makes it tough to defend the perimeter, and I thought our edge run blocking was really good. I thought our wings blocked well for each other, I thought the wideouts did a good job, and then our guards ran well — [Karson] Merrell and [Alex] Pier got out and got in front of stuff well.”
Northwestern scored on a one-yard plunge by Gibson in the third quarter, and ended the scoring with a 36-yard punt return by Jake Ridgeway in the fourth. It was a just reward for the punt return team which was consistently effective. Earlier in the game, Ridgeway faked a reverse on a punt reception, and ran 54 yards to set up Northwestern’s final score of the first half.
Just as impressive was how Northwestern handled Taylor’s offense. Taylor was stopped for zero, or negative yardage on 15 plays as Tiger defenders overran the Titan backfield with regularity. Gordon Jenkins’ 84 yards rushing on 15 carries was one of few highlights for Taylor.
Northwestern’s defensive effort was a big improvement after giving up 46 points to Western in a two-point victory last week.
“I thought it was a good win,” Schulte said. “We were struggling for a little bit defensively. Giving up zero, that’s a good way to come back from struggling.”
Ousley hopes the result is an eye-opener for the Titans.
“I think they realize [the Tigers are] a good football team, but I don’t they realize how much they have to turn their game up to match how good [the Tigers] are,” he said. “[The Tigers] do things the right way, they really get after you physically. We didn’t match it in the first quarter.”
Sports
Related Photos
Discussion
FOOTBALL: Quick-strike NW stuns Taylor
Tigers rumble for 285 yards on the ground in shutout victory
- Sports
-
-
Kats lose heartbreaker
Kokomo’s girls basketball team executed its game plan to near perfection against host Logansport in the first game of the Class 4A Logansport Sectional Tuesday.
-
Tipton races by Taylor
Over the last two seasons, Tipton’s girls basketball team has been held under 40 points in just three games.
Tuesday’s sectional opponent — Taylor — held the Blue Devils down in two of those games. Tuesday was a different story.
-
It’s tourney time
In the girls basketball regular season, Tipton and Logansport compiled gaudy records and conference championships while Taylor and Kokomo finished with sub-.500 records.
-
What a kick for Hoosier native Weatherford
Indianapolis — While Steve Weatherford celebrated with his teammates in the New York Giants’ locker room after the 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, thoughts inevitably turned to Terre Haute — his hometown.
-
Ice baths can improve your health
Several years ago, I applied to be a participant in the weekly television show “Survivor.” Disappointingly, I was rejected.
-
Wiechmann comes up big in regional
Western senior wrestler Jake Wiechmann had lost twice this season to Kokomo standout Fletcher Miller, and was trailing 3-1 to Miller in the third period of the championship of the 182-pound match at the Peru Regional Saturday when the opportunity for vengeance struck.
-
Wildkat wrestlers move nine onto Ft. Wayne semistate
The Kokomo Wildkats’ bus will need just a little bit more gas than usual next weekend to haul its cargo up to Fort Wayne for Saturday’s individual wrestling semistate at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
-
Visitors down at tourism office
Since moving its office location from the Kokomo Event Center to downtown Kokomo, the number of walk-in visits for tourism information has dropped 77 percent in one year.
-
Kokomo guts out a win at Lebanon
It didn’t take clairvoyance to deduce that Saturday night’s showdown between Class 4A No. 6-ranked Kokomo and Class 3A No. 3-ranked Lebanon in the Tigers’ Rosenstihl Gymnasium had the makings of a close affair.
-
Western beats Taylor, secures shot at outright MIC title
Something Taylor coach Andy Lewman noted about Western’s boys basketball team early on this season was how well the Panthers share the ball.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Worker Tells 911: Powell 'exploded the House'
Triple Win: Santorum Takes Minn., Mo., Colo.
Injured Marine Inspired by Homecoming
No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner
Romney Congratulates Santorum, Focuses on Obama
Paul Says Results Help Him Rack Up Delegates
Egypt's Ruling Generals Play Risky Game With US
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
Raw Video: Giants Celebrate Another Super Bowl
Cab Driver Helps Wis. Family Escape House Fire
Greek Leaders Seek Deal As Bankruptcy Looms
Bernanke: Recovery Depends on Consumer Spending
Staff Removed at LA School During Abuse Probe
Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate'
Stranded Fishermen Rescued From Bay of Green Bay
Analyst: Outside Troops Won't Intervene in Syria
Police: Father Planned Deadly Fire for Some Time
