Thursday, November 2, 1995 By SCOTT DANIEL Sports Editor
The Jug resides in Novi, thank you.
The Wildcats took that piece of hardware away from Bassetline rival Northville Friday by grinding out a 21-14 win before a large home crowd.
Jason Witherspoon, Mike Hicks, and Jason Callender all scored in the first half, and Novi’s defense fought off a game Mustang second-half comeback attempt for the win. It was the Wildcats' first win over Northville since 1992 and just the second since the inception of the Jug seven years ago.
“It took a real team effort to beat those people,” Novi coach John Osborne said. “It was awfully tough.”
The game was in doubt right up to the end.
Down 21-14, Northville stopped the Wildcats on downs at their own nine-yard line with 1:28 left in the game. With no timeouts remaining, the Mustangs put on an impressive final drive.
Quarterback Tim Burke completed a pair of passes to move the ball to the Mustang 36-yard line. A pass interference call then pushed Northville into Novi territory at the 48 with 50 seconds left.
Then on second down, Anell Kersey made a fine diving catch of a Burke pass for 19 yards. With nine seconds left, the Wildcats were called for a second pass interference.
That moved it down to the 16-yard line of Novi with five seconds remaining. Burke dropped back for a final pass and found his receiver in the end zone. The ball went off the receiver’s hands as Novi’s Chad Dicken hit him, and the Wildcats had their victory.
“The kids did all they could,” Northville coach Darrel Schumacher said. “But we just came up short.”
Osborne blamed himself for allowing Northville its final drive. He said his play calling should’ve been more aggressive in Novi’s final possession.
“I didn’t think they could go 90 yards in a minute-and-a-half,” Osborne added.
Northville’s efforts were also aided by Wildcat mistakes, he said.
“We have a tendency to shoot ourselves in the foot,” Osborne commented.
Both Novi and Northville finished the year at 4-5. Winning the Jug takes some of the sting out of the sub-.500 season for the Wildcats, Osborne said.
“It was nice to see our guys get a win against an opponent that’s as good as us,” he added. “We’ve got bragging rights for 365 days.”
When teams match up evenly, turnovers usually make the difference. Northville made a critical error right off the bat.
The Mustangs took the ball at their own 26-yard line to start the game. On second down, Kersey fumbled, and Hicks recovered for the Wildcats.
Novi got the ball at Northville’s 36 with 10:34 left on the first quarter clock. The 'Cats then ran the ball six straight times before Witherspoon found the end zone on a two-yard jaunt. Novi led 7-0 at 7:25.
Northville wasted little time in responding.
The Mustangs started their second drive at their own 29-yard line. On third down and three, Luis Guajardo booted 34 yards on a counter play all the way to Novi’s 30-yard line.
Six plays later, Chris Whittington pounded it in from three yards out to make it 7-7 at 2:34.
“It’s going to be a good one,” Schumacher said of the sophomore, who ran for 96 yards on 16 attempts. “He’s a power runner.”
The teams traded possessions as the second quarter got underway. Novi forced a Mustang punt at 10:21 and started on its own 29. On third and five, Hicks made a huge play.
Osborne called for a counter, which is similar to a reverse. Hicks took the misdirected handoff cut around the right end, then booked up the sideline for a 64-yard touchdown.
Northville’s Garrett Carter blocked the extra point, and Novi led 13-7 at 8:48. The Wildcats made it 21-7 shortly before the half ended.
Novi’s Skip Becker recovered a Burke fumble at the Wildcat 34-yard line with 34 seconds left.
On first down, Witherspoon ran off tackle for 42 yards. Dicken then completed a 12-yard pass to the junior to move the ball to the Mustang 12-yard line.
After a Novi timeout, Dicken then hit Callender for a 12-yard TD with seven seconds left. Callender did a good job of keeping his feet in bounds on the catch.
Despite the deficit, Schumacher thought the Mustangs could come back.
“The kids didn’t feel they were out of it,” he said.
Indeed not.
The rivals traded possessions to start the third quarter. Northville then got the ball back at its own 20-yard line with 5:54 to go.
Whittington punished the Wildcat defense with runs of 15 and 14 yards on the first two plays of the drive. Kersey then added an 11-yard burst.
Northville continued to move the ball down the field by running straight at the ‘Cats. The Mustangs finally scored as Burke hit Mark Smith with a nine-yard pass at the 3:38 mark.
But that’s as far as the comeback would go as Novi held on for victory.