Football Earns Wild 49-42 Win Over Walsh To Conclude The 2024 Season

OVERVIEW – WALSH

SCORE: Northwood Timberwolves 49, Walsh Cavaliers 42
RECORDS: Northwood 6-5, 4-5 G-MAC | Walsh 5-6, 4-5 G-MAC
LOCATION: Hantz Stadium – Midland, Mich.
RECAP: Northwood football finishes season with a wild 49-42 senior day victory over Walsh Saturday (November 16).

INSIDE THE GAME

• In a game full of unusual plays, the opening points of the game came in a strange matter. With the ball on the Walsh two-yard line, Northwood fumbled the ball on a rushing attempt. Senior offensive lineman Cam Webb was in the right place, recovering the ball in the end zone to put Northwood on top 7-0 midway through the first.
• Early in the second quarter, Northwood extended their lead. Quarterback Ethan Hamby capped a 43-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run to make the score 14-0.
• Walsh came back with their first points of the day, going 72 yards on 11 plays. Their 17-yard TD pass made the score 14-7, which is where the score remained at halftime.
• The second half proved to be filled with points, as the two teams combined for 70 after the break (35-35). The first score of the half came on the opening drive for Northwood when Hamby found Lake Boos for a 61-yard touchdown pass that made the score 21-7.
• The Cavalier went 85 yards on their next drive for a TD of their own to cut the advantage to 21-14.
• Just over two minutes later, the Timberwolves got their lead back to 14 thanks to the combination of Hamby and Brendan Teal. Hamby found Teal for a 39-yard touchdown with 4:51 remaining in the third. Teal's 10th TD reception of the season made the score 28-14.
• It was the Northwood special teams that came through with the next points of the game.  On a punt from the Walsh 32, Boos earned a blocked punt, which was picked up by Leon Williams. Williams retuned the blocked punt 25-yards for a touchdown to put NU on top 35-14.
• Walsh came right back with another scoring drive, covering 75-yards in four plays. A 61-yard touchdown pass made the score 35-21.
• On the first play of the fourth quarter, Northwood returned the lead to 21 points. Hamby found the end zone on a five-yard run to push the NU advantage to 42-21.
• The Cavs wasted little time coming back, as they found the end zone less than three minutes later to cut the Northwood lead to 42-29.
• Northwood's final touchdown of the day came at the 7:41 mark of the final quarter. Devin Brown's one-yard run gave Northwood a 49-28 lead.
• Walsh did not go away, as Cavalier quarterback TC Molk continued his big day. He passed for his fifth and sixth touchdowns over the final 6:56 of the game. His final TD that got WU within seven at 49-42 came with just four seconds remaining.
• Northwood recovered the following onside kick and closed out the victory.

GAME STATS

• FIRST DOWNS: Northwood 26, Walsh 34
• RUSHES-YARDS: Northwood 35-155, Walsh 34-77
• PASSING YARDS: Northwood 337 (16-21, 2 TDs, INT), Walsh 436 (35-50, 6 TDs, 0 INTs)
• TOTAL OFFENSE, PLAYS-YARDS: Northwood 56-492, Walsh 84-513
• TIME OF POSSESSION: Northwood 25:53, Walsh 34:07

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

• Hamby: 15-20, 331 yards passing, 2 TDs, 57 yards rushing, 2 TDs
• Teal: Five receptions, 96 yards, TD
• Boos: Two receptions, 89 yards, TD
• Brown: 12 carries, 78 yards, TD
• Jackson Price: 13 tackles, two tackles for loss
• Mbaimba Tunkara: 10 tackles, sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, pass breakup
• Brock Cook: Nine tackles, three sacks, forced fumble

NORTHWOOD NOTES

• The win give the Timberwolves their first winning season since 2017, when Northwood finished with a 7-4 mark.