Northview wins sectional opener in 40-7 blowout

Andrew Butts caught four passes for 75 yards and a touchdown as the Northview Knights dominated their sectional opener against Boonville to the tune of a 40-7 victory. Carey Fox Photo.

BOONVILLE -- The Northview Knights put an end to its recent sectional woes with a dominating win on Friday night at Boonville, 40-7.

Head coach George Gettle, like his players, was excited to continue the season for another weekend.

"Real proud of the kids. This is only the third sectional win in the history of the school," Gettle said. "We talked about setting yourself apart as a team.

This team has done that. We survived and advanced. We played some awfully good football early on. It's not easy traveling for three hours with high school kids. It's not easy traveling seven out of eight weeks, we had a tremendous day."

The Knights came out flying on both sides of the ball during the first half.

Defensively, the Knights didn't allow a first down until the 9:05 mark of the second quarter and by that time the offense had given them a 26-0 lead to work with a flurry of first quarter scores.

The Knights kicked off to start the game, but forced a four-and-out and a punt from the Pioneers.

Northview's offense went to work from its own 39-yard line and quarterback Trent Lancaster ripped off a 27-yard run on the second play of the drive. After a one-yard run by Damon Hyatt, Lancaster found Zac Niehaus for a 27-yard pass play to the Boonville five-yard line. Two plays later, Hyatt bulled into the endzone for a one-yard score. The extra point try was blocked and the Knights led 6-0 with barely five minutes gone in the opening period.

Boonville's second drive wasn't any more successful as Hunter Robertson picked off a Evan Hendrickson pass on the first play and returned it for a 25-yard score and a 13-0 lead after Trey Boor's extra point.

With the Pioneers reeling, the Knights got the ball back on it's own 33-yard line following a punt, Lancaster hit Andrew Butts for a 37-yard gain after a 19-yard connection with Niehaus. Hyatt would finish off a quick drive with a five-yard TD run and the Knights were up 20-0 with 3:58 left in the opening quarter.

Northview nearly added to its score after Larry Shaffer forced and recovered a Boonville fumble on the following drive, but a 36-yard field goal was no good.

After an eventful first stanza, the Knights opened the second quarter much like the first period as Lancaster capped a quick strike one-play drive from midfield by finding Niehaus zipping down the sideline for a 50-yard touchdown as the lead grew to 26-0.

Boonville finally found a bit of offensive success on the next drive thanks to a 41-yard run by sophomore Seth Lowe, who broke a tackle in the backfield and raced to the Knights' 15-yard line. Hendrickson found tight end Zach Camp for a 14-yard reception to the one-yard line. The Knights' defense nearly held, holding Boonville on two straight running plays, but Hendrickson was able to sneak in on a one-yard score to get the Pioneers on the board, trailing 26-7.

The Knights would add a final first half score on an 85-yard, five-play drive that included an 18-yard pass to Hyatt, a 16-yard reception by Butts and Hyatt capped it by breaking through with hard fought, 34-yard pass and catch for a 33-7 lead at the break.

In the second half, both teams slugged out a scoreless third quarter before the Knights capped their scoring with a 48-yard strike from Lancaster to Butts on fourth down with 2:28 remaining in the game for a 40-7 lead.

The Knights held the Pioneers scoreless in the second half and held Boonville on a first-and-goal during the closing minutes, sacking Hendrickson to end the game.

The Knights (8-2 overall) face top-ranked Evansville Reitz at home in round two of sectional play next weekend.

Northview 20 13 0 7 -

40

Boonville 0 7 0 0 -

7

First quarter

Nv -- Damon Hyatt one-yard run (kick blocked), 7:09

Nv -- Hunter Robertson 25-yard interception return (Trey Boor kick), 6:56

Nv -- Hyatt five-yard run (Boor kick), 3:58

Second quarter

Nv -- Trent Lancaster 50-yard pass to Zac Niehaus (kick failed), 11:46

BV -- Evan Hendrickson one-yard run (McConnell kick), 5:29

Nv -- Lancaster 34-yard pass to Hyatt (Boor kick), 3:22

Third quarter

None

Fourth quarter

Nv -- Lancaster 48-yard pass to Andrew Butts (Boor kick), 2:28

Team stats

Northview Boonville

Rushing yards 22-80 37-103

Passing yards 268 117

First downs 11 15

Penalties 5-45 2-16

Individual Stats

Passing: Northview (Lancaster 14-22 268 yards, 0 Int. 3 TD), Boonville

(Hendrickson 10-23 117 yards, 1 Int., 0 TD).

Rushing: Northview (Hyatt 11-21, Lancaster 11-59), Boonville (Lowe 12-56,

Winsett 9-52, Mosely 3-0, Henrickson 5-14, Hendrickson 8-(-19).

Receiving: Northview (Niehaus 6-126 TD, Hyatt 4-67 TD, Butts 4-75 TD), Boonville

(Baumgart 5-58, Camp 1-14, Winsett 2-12, Woosley 1-12, Mosely 1-11).