Northwest overcame a 16-0 deficit to beat the Warriors 38-22.

By ERIC HAMILTON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

CANAL FULTON — It’s not how you start — it’s how you finish a football game that sometimes makes the biggest difference.

West Branch got off to a sizzling start in its Northeastern Buckeye Conference showdown at Northwest, scoring on its first three possessions to seize a 16-point advantage.

But the Indians’ big-play offense scored 38 unanswered points to turn the tables and run away with a 38-22 victory, improving to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Northeastern Buckeye Conference.

“We had a good game plan and were able to get up on them early, but they made some adjustments,” said West Branch coach Bob Altenhof. “We thought we had some advantages and we used them, but after that it was a tough football game.

“They made some plays and they are so big and strong up front that they just wore us down.”

After knotting the score at 16-all with 22 seconds left in the first half, Northwest picked up where it left off in the third quarter. The Indians drove 63 yards, scoring on a 13-yard run by Tony Stover to go ahead 23-16.

Northwest used an unusual formation on the play, putting 10 players on the line of scrimmage and snapping to Stover who went right up the middle.

After Stover intercepted a Steve McNeely pass, the Indians struck again. Beers plunged in from 3 yards out and another conversion gave Northwest lead to 31-16 lead at the 4:18 mark of the third.

After giving up 146 passing yards in the first quarter, the Northwest defense surrendered just 48 yards through the air in the second half.

“They showed us a lot of different defensive formations,” said Altenhof. “In some cases, our receivers just weren’t open and other times we didn’t give Steve enough time to throw. It was a combination of things.”

West Branch (6-2, 3-2) marched 64 yards on the game’s opening possession to take a 7-0 advantage. The drive was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Corey Catania. Bo Beegle’s kick was good.

After a Northwest punt, the Warriors again had no problems moving the ball. McNeely had the hot hand, completing a 54-yarder to Jeremiah James down to the Indians’ 21.

A 12-yarder to James and an 8-yard grab by Chad Butcher got West Branch to the Northwest 13.

The drive stalled at the NW 8, but West Branch tacked on a 25-yard field goal by Beegle to pad its lead to 10-0 with 2:35 left in the opening quarter.

The West Branch defense stood firm again on Northwest’s next possession. The Indians were forced to punt and the Warriors partially blocked the kick, which resulted in a 9-yard punt.

With prime field position at the Indians’ 29, West Branch and McNeely again went to the air. McNeely connected with Butcher twice — on a 26-yarder and two plays later for a 9-yard touchdown. The kick was blocked, but the Warriors were in control 16-0 with 10:04 remaining in the second quarter.

That’s when the Northwest offense awoke. The Indians scored on two of their next three possessions to even the score at halftime.

The first score came via a 4-yard run by Danny Beers. He added the two-point conversion run to get the Indians within 16-8.

Just before the half, the Indians completed a stellar second quarter in impressive fashion. Taking over at the West Branch 43 with just 42 seconds left, NW used two plays and 20 seconds to tie the contest.

Quarterback Jim Shiplett hit Paul Hensley for a 36-yard scoring toss with 22 seconds left. Beers’ second conversion run knotted the game at 16-all at the intermission.