Published: September 15, 2007 12:13 am      

HS FOOTBALL: NT makes a statement in win over Niagara-Wheatfield

NORTH TONAWANDA — It appears as if the demise of North Tonawanda football has been vastly overrated.

Need evidence?

North Tonawanda racked up a whopping 627 yards on the ground during a 55-21 pasting of Class AA North rival Niagara-Wheatfield on Friday night at the Lumberjacks Sports Complex. It was the first win of the year for NT (1-2 overall, 1-0 Class AA North) and the first loss for N-W (2-1, 1-1).

“We always knew we were a good team, we just had to fix some of the little mistakes,” fullback Jeff Zellner said. “We were a great team waiting to break out.”

And break out they did.

On the first drive of the contest, the Jacks set the tone for the night as they repeatedly pounded the ball right at the N-W defense. Zellner ripped off runs of 11 and 16 yards before capping the drive with a 17-yard scoring scamper.

The Falcons and quarterback Kevin Ogiba quickly responded as they took advantage of great field position. Ogiba scrambled from defenders and then burst through the NT defense to knot the game at 7.

But that would be the only answer N-W would have in store for the Jacks on this night.

NT's Ryan Hawkins ran in from two yards out on the next drive and Zellner dove in for a 1-yard TD just before the end of the first quarter to put the Jacks up 21-7.

The rout continued into the second quarter as Hawkins went 60 yards seemingly untouched around the left side. That seemed to be a theme on the night as the NT offensive line consistently won the battle in the trenches and allowed a plethora of backs to run free.

“It was a great week of preparation and practice for us,” NT coach Eric Jantzi said. “I thought the stiffer competition prepared us better for this game and honestly I don’t think they’ve seen an offensive line like ours.”

N-W coach Al Pogel agreed that his big bodies did not perform at their best.

“It wasn’t for a lack of intensity, but we really got pushed around up front,” he said.

After Hawkins — who had 112 yards on eight carries — ran in for his second score of the quarter and third of the contest, the half mercifully ended for N-W as it trailed 35-7.

Unfortunately for the Falcons, the second half would be no different as quarterback Keith Bogdan, who had 88 yards rushing on the night, ran in from one yard out on NT’s first possession. On the Jacks’ next drive Zellner put an exclamation on his day with an 84-yard touchdown run that displayed the junior’s speed and toughness. Zellner finished with 234 yards on only 18 carries.

“We had guys in position and he ran right through them and then he out-ran our secondary and I have some fast kids back there,” Pogel said of Zellner. “We tried a lot of things and we were well prepared, but I can’t begin to explain how well they executed.”

Even the reserves got in the action for NT as tailback Mark Christopher scored the final TD early in the fourth quarter on a 30-yard run. Christopher finished with 131 yards on only five carries.

Wesley Dillon and Paul Smith each scored a TD for N-W late in the fourth quarter.

Jantzi said this is was the type of performance his team needed as it heads into the bulk of the Class AA North schedule.

“We didn’t ever lose confidence, we just needed to play as a group, play solid football and the kids did exactly what we asked them to do tonight,” he said.

Pogel, on the other hand, needs his troops to regroup in a hurry.

“We know we have to get right back at it and I’m confident we will,” he said. “We still have the opportunity to (likely) control our own destiny (for the playoffs).”

Contact reporter Nate Beutel at 282-2311, ext. 2262.