Cougars make most of their opportunity
Tyler Grace next tough test for Northland Christian
Northland Christian continues to roll along.
The Cougars won their third consecutive game last week, beating Legacy Christian 48-14 in the first round of the TAPPS Division II playoffs. They beat Cypress Christian 49-7 two weeks ago to clinch a district championship.
“It was good to receive that honor, but the thing that was most important about that was being the first seed going out,” coach David Nelson said.
“It was huge for our kids, and they’re excited, and it set things up better for the playoff run.”
Their offense couldn’t have been much better in the first round.
They put up 48 points and 503 total yards behind quarterback Michael Massarella, who accounted for five touchdowns.
The junior threw for 193 yards and three TDs and ran for 76 yards and two scores.
“We scored every time we had the football, with the exception of one time (when) we went for a field goal at the end of a drive and didn’t make it,” Nelson said. “So they performed really well.”
Defensively, Northland stuck to its gameplan and played with discipline.
Legacy racked up 398 yards but came away with only two scores, and the Cougars picked QB Jack Knight twice.
“We did a good job being in the right spots, and holding Legacy Christian to 14 points, we felt really good about that,” Nelson said.
Next up for Northland Christian (9-2) is a showdown with Tyler Grace Community (10-1).
“(Grace coach Mike Maddox) is one heck of a football coach, and he believes, like I do, that you have to win in the locker room first, and he does that, so it ought to be a great contest,” Nelson said.
They meet at 4 p.m. Saturday at Monte Jack Driskell Stadium in Crockett.
“They have a pretty prolific offense and a lock-you-up defense, so they want to try to stop the run, based on the films that we’ve seen, so we’re going to have to break out the other part of our offensive attack.
“Offensively, they’re unbelievably sound and they find ways to get their playmakers the ball, and they’ve got a really dangerous quarterback.”