Noxon Red Devils make history
By dismantling Victor 44-8 in a Western C matchup on Saturday, the , 4-3 the Noxon Red Devils have made history.
“The last two years now, we’re not going to have a losing season,” Red Devil head coach Greg Misner said. “That’s the first time that’s ever happened in Noxon.”
Although the Red Devils had no trouble scoring early, Banks Stocking returned the opening kick-off 70 yards for a touchdown, they had to make some adjustments defensively before they could find a groove.
“We had trouble stopping their out patterns,” Misner explained of Victor’s spread offense, and the adjustment he made during a timeout to shift his inside linebackers toward the sidelines to spread out his coverage. “We had to give up the middle a litte bit, but our safeties stepped up and made some big plays.”
Misner went on to explain the necessary risk involved in making a strategic adjustment in the middle of a game.
“That actually left us vulnerable to the dive, but they hadn’t really run the dive all day, so we just kind of had to give up one to gain the other,” he added. “It ended up working really well.”
After their adjustment, the Red Devils would hold Victor to just eight points, by way of a 36 yard pass from Kurt Manley to Kyle Ball in the second quarter.
Adam Moore started things off for Noxon offensively by rushing for an 18 yard score in the first quarter, Tyrell Wilkinson added an eight yard scoring scamper early in the second all before Ball and the Pirates could respond.
The Devils and Moore would score from long range on a 60 yard touchdown reception from Brandon Piazolla made it 32-8 at the half.
Wilkinson would score again in the third from seven yards out, and Moore from 21 in the fourth as Noxon cruised to the victory on the road.
Moore finished with 23 carries for 169 yards. Piazolla was impressive despite attempting only seven passes, completing six 78 yards.
“Brandon had a good week passing, and the last two weeks he’s really stepped up too,” Misner said. “I do think our strength is our running game. We had really worked this week on our line getting up field and blocking, getting after it a little more than we had been. They did a good job, and I guess I really didn’t feel that we needed to open up a passing game persay, because our run was going well.”
For Victor, Manely finished 17-of-35 for 168 yards and four interceptions, and Randy Lewis rushed 10 times for 90 yards.
As for Noxon’s next opponent Lincoln, Misner expects to see more of the same, as Lincoln primarily runs a spread offense with three and four wide receivers sets.
“I think we’ll match up well with them. I think our line will do well against them, we’ve just got to come ready to play,” he added.
Friday will be senior night for Noxon, and the Red Devils will say goodbye to players that have seen their program turn around from an 0-8 freshman season to a senior one in which they have a chance to make the playoffs heading into their final game.
As far as the Red Devils playoff chances, they will need a win against Lincoln to force a three-way tie for both third and fourth place, and a little luck in to come out on top in the tie-breaker.
“There’s nothing we can do about it, just concentrate on what we’ve got to do and let the rest fall into play,” Misner said. “We can’t worry about who’s making it, and who’s not making it. We’ve just got to come and win.”
Noxon will host Lincoln on Friday at 7 p.m.