Springdale holds off Northgate for 1st victory of season

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 6, 2018 | 10:50 PM

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Springdale avoided its first 0-6 start since 1993 by holding on for a 14-11 victory over Northgate in a nonconference game Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field in Bellevue.

Trailing 14-2 entering the fourth quarter, the Flames tallied a field goal and a touchdown. Springdale’s Justin Botinovich recovered two Northgate onside kicks to preserve the victory.

After the second recovery, Springdale ran out the final 3 minutes, 25 seconds of the contest.

Quarterback Josh Jones scored both Dynamos touchdowns on keepers as the Flames slipped to 0-7.

“It always great to get a win, especially on the road,” Springdale coach Seth Napierkowski said. “Our guys needed this. We had a couple of tough opponents the first five weeks so to win feels good to us, and it’s something to build off.”

Northgate, however, leads the all-time series 8-3.

Injuries continued to plague both teams. Junior Christian Vokes, Springdale’s leading rusher, suffered a leg injury on the second play from scrimmage and did not return.

“Christian’s a dynamic player for us,” Napierkowski said. “He can catch passes for us out of the backfield and running the ball, but we made some adjustments and a couple of people stepped up today. ”

Sub Brandon Green had 17 carries for 41 yards and made several defensive stops.

At one point, Napierkowski was thinking of the Four Freshmen, and it wasn’t the 1950s musical group.

“At one point I looked up and, defensively, we had four freshmen out there for a while,” the Dynamos coach said. “It’s just a testament that they bust their backsides, and they deserve the playing time. They’ve put in the work.”

Northgate had just 15 players in uniform Saturday.

“The cards have been dealt, and we go out and play football,” Northgate coach Michael Fulmore said. “We don’t cry about it or ask to stop the game. It is what it is. It’s really tough.”

Fulmore was pleased with the performance of quarterback Davonte Christie, who threw for 58 yards, and Anthony Barbarino, who had 81 yards rushing.

Also, junior Nate O’ Mara had a safety, a fumble recovery and three sacks.

“O’Mara’s been a great guy,” Fulmore said. “I really like his motor, I like the way he’s a leader on the team. He’s a leader inside and outside the locker room. His play is getting better every game.”

Springdale opened the scoring after taking a short punt and driving 36 yards in nine plays. Jones crashed over the goal line from 2 yards.

Reserve quarterback Legend Ausk tried to get out of the end zone, but O’ Mara was there for the stop and a safety to cut the Springdale lead to 7-2 with 7:33 left in the half.

In the third quarter, freshman Gio Savko recovered a Northgate fumble at the Flames’ 27, and the Dynamos were back on the board with a second Jones touchdown on a 1-yard plunge.

Heman Dargee intercepted a tipped pass for Northgate and booted a 30-yard field goal nine plays later.

Dylan White recovered a Dynamos fumble at the Springdale 35 and, after two major Dynamos penalties, Zack Reskovac caught a 10-yard pass from Christie for the game’s final score.

George Guido is a freelance writer.

Tags: Northgate, Springdale