No. 4 Northmor (9-2, 6-1) had no trouble with No. 13 Dawson-Bryant (4-7, 1-6) in the opening round of the Division IV Region 23 football tournament on Friday night, with AJ Bower throwing for three touchdowns in a 44-22 win.
Northmor got on the board first on a 45-yard touchdown pass rom Bower to Jax Wenger, and Caleb Schnuerer made it 7-0 on the extra point. The Hornets took an 8-7 lead on a one-yard run by Rylan Smith, followed by a two-point conversion run also by Smith.
In the second quarter the Hornets took a 14-7 lead on a Caden Turner two-yard run, but the Golden Knights tied the game 14-14 on a 30-yard touchdown pass by Bower to Wenger and an extra point. Turner scored again on a three-yard run and then took it in for the two point conversion to give the Hornets a 22-14 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Paul Cramer took it in from two-yards out and then Carson Campbell ran it in for the two point conversion. Cramer then ran it in from four yards out, and Schnuerer knocked another extra point through to go up 29-22. Cramer scored again from four yards, and then took it in himself for a two-point conversion making it a 37-22 lead after three.
Bower connected with Cameron Goldbach for a 10-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, followed by a Schnuerer extra point to go up 44-22 and seal the big win.
Northmor had 337 yards of total offense on the day, led by Bower who was 20-for-24 for 235 yards passing with three touchdowns and a pick. Cramer had nine carries for 28 yards and three touchdowns, while Campbell ran 15 times for 74 yards. Wenger caught six passes, two for touchdowns, and tallied 114 yards. Hunter Fulk caught nine passes for 66 yards and Bo Landin had three catches for 37 yards. Schnuerer was 4-for-4 on extra points.
On defense Cramer led the way with 14 tackles and Goldbach had seven tackles with a sack. Garrett Harvey tallied 13 tackles and blocked a kick, while Schnuerer recorded 11 tackles.
Bower now has 2,220 yards passing, 32 touchdowns and eight picks, with a completion rate of 61.68%. Campbell has rushed 153 times for 980 yards and 12 touchdowns, while Kramer has 318 yards on 69 carries, with 11 touchdowns. Wenger has caught 41 passes for 778 yards and 14 touchdowns, and Landin has 27 catches for 638 yards and 11 scores.
The Hornets relied solely on the run with 262 of their 269 yards coming on the ground. Turner had 106 yards and two touchdowns, and Kaden Murphy had 95 yards. Murphy also had the interception.
Next up is the Regional Semifinals, with No. 4 Northmor taking on No. 12 Trimble (6-4, 2-2) on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. at home. Trimble is coming off a 37-6 upset over No. 5 Elgin in the first round.
