Stan Frank
Republished with permission of the Northville Record
October 27, 2005
With a 33-12 loss at Novi, the Mustangs' 2005 football campaign came to a close last Friday
On the brink of being blanked by its non-conference rival, Northville saved face with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes from quarterback Mike Deluca to wideout Evan Corbeil.
But thanks to a 20-point Novi explosion during the final 5:16 of the first half, the game's outcome never was in question.
Northville couldn't sustain a rushing attack, gaining a mere 34 yards
on 24 carries. That meant Deluca, a junior, had to air things out.
Deluca completed 17 of 42 passes for 172 yards. He also threw three
interceptions and was sacked six times, though retained his composure
and delivered a gutsy fourth-quarter effort, tossing 15- and 20-yard
scoring strikes to Corbeil.
"He was under intense pressure throughout the game," Northville head
coach Ryan Hockman said of Deluca. "I don't know how many times we
threw the ball tonight, but our plan wasn't to throw it 50 times."
For Corbeil, the touchdown receptions proved the first of his senior campaign.
"Those were pretty special for me," Corbeil said. "But it was bittersweet because we didn't get the win"
Novi charged to an early 7-0 lead on the game's first offensive possession and took a 27-0 halftime lead.
Novi cashed in for a quick score when Stefan Figurski intercepted a Deluca pass and ran it back for a 28-yard touchdown.
Hockman defended the play call.
"I do second-guess myself (for calling that play), because we put a young sophomore in a position where he hadn't been."
Novi coach Tab Kellepourey was less critical.
"If you've got four seconds left, you've got to play," Kellepourey
said. "What's going to happen if their kid catches the ball and our kid
stumbles? As a coach, you're out there fighting on every single play."
Second thoughts
Taming the Wildcats took a turn early inthe second half when Ryan
Figurski intercepted a Deluca pass and returned it to the 25-yard line.
Two plays later, senior David Carnegie dashed into the end zone from 12
yards to give the Wildcats a 33-0 lead with 10:32 remaining in the
third quarter.
Northville avoided being shut out for the second time this season when
Deluca conected with Corbeil for a 15-yard touchdown with 5:01
remaining in the game.
"You just can't get shut out in these rivalry games," Corbeil said. "That would be just heartbreaking."
Novi improved to 7-2 with the victory, and, in the process, retained
possession of the Baseline Jug, a traveling trophy that in the last
five years hasn't done much traveling. Northville finished 2-7 in its
first season with Hockman at the helm.
"We can do it next year," Hockman said. "Obviously, we've got to get
better at some things, but there's no reason we can't be in the
playoffs next year."