Jeff Theisen
October 18, 2007
Published with permission of the Novi News
Novi took care of business and will go down as co-champs for the final KVC football title.
The Wildcats built a 28-7 lead in the third quarter and left Hartland with a 28-21 victory, Novi's sixth in a row.
Novi finished tied with Howell with the same 7-1 overall, 6-1 in the KVC records.
"It's just been a tremendous conference," Novi head coach Tab Kellepourey said. "Here is a league that has been in existence for 29 years now and we're at the end of the 29 years.
"At the end of it, to be the team on top of it is a great feeling. It's an accomplishment the 2007 team will always have credited to them."
Arshaun Hall had a huge day, racking up 168 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
He scored the opening touchdown of the game, a 47-yard run with 4:43 left in the first quarter.
"He
was able to make his good, quick cuts and get up the field in a hurry,"
Kellepourey said. "He's got some exceptional ability."
The
Wildcats pushed the lead to 14-0 when Aaron Pugh scored on a 34-yard
pass from Mark Heard in the opening moments of the second quarter.
Hartland
pulled within seven after scoring on a 5-yard run with 5:58 left in the
half, but Novi surged back into a 14-point lead a few minutes later.
Heard hit Chris Bellamy with a 33-yard scoring pass with 2:31 left in the half for a 21-7 lead that went into halftime.
Hall pushed the lead to 28-7 with a 24-yard run with 3:23 left in the third quarter.
"We
had Joe Shada and Tyler Hoover pulling," Kellepourey said. "Shada made
a good block to get us around the edge, and then Hoover made another
good block up the field, knocking a defender down."
The Eagles
scored on another 5-yard run with 1:35 left in the third, and scored
again with 20 seconds left from a yard out for the final points.
Pat
Schlenke secured the win by pulling in the onside kick, and Novi ran
out the clock on another road victory. The Wildcats are 4-0 on the road.
"When
you are having success like we're having right now, everything that you
do as a team ... it just is a great situation for everybody,"
Kellepourey said.