Todd Rose | Daily Press North Central’s Carter Eichmeier (80) holds up the regional championship trophy as his teammates celebrate behind him after defeating Cedarville Friday night in Powers.

POWERS — Getting off to a fast start was one of North Central’s goals coming into Friday night’s football game.

Alex Naser helped the Jets achieve that by taking the opening kickoff and dashing 85 yards for a touchdown in a 55-8 triumph over the Cedarville Trojans in an eight-player, Division 2 regional final.

“That set the tone,” said Jets’ coach Leo Gorzinski. “When you have two confident teams on the field, and you score on the opening kickoff, it tends to put your opponent behind the eight-ball. Alex just wants to win so bad. It’s going to take a lot to take him down.”

The victory enables the Jets (8-0) to host Marion in a state semifinal contest Nov. 21. The Trojans finished 6-2.

Naser initially dropped the ball, then broke four tackles en route to the Jets’ first score, marking the second straight week he scored on the opening kickoff.

“We had them bottled up,” said Cedarville coach Scott Barr. “I thought we had them pinned on the five (yard line). This was a tough one for us. We had to win the 50/50 battle and lost that battle. A couple early turnovers also hurt us. Hats off to North Central. They’re obviously an explosive team.”

The Jets cashed in on one of those miscues after Carter Eichmeier recovered a fumble on the Cedarville 35.

Naser scored on a six-yard run up the middle a short time later, giving the Jets a 14-0 lead.

The Trojans moved the ball quickly on their next possession until Carter Tietz intercepted a pass and returned it to the Jets’ 30.

Naser then raised the count to 20-0 on a 59-yard aerial from Luke Gorzinski midway through the opening frame, and Wyatt Raab made it 28-0 on a 34-yard run around right end.

“Alex did a great job,” said Luke. “We couldn’t be happier to have him on our team. When he scored on the opening kickoff, it got everybody hyped. We were ready to play. This is awesome. We wanted to do this for the seniors on this year’s team and last year’s team.”

Aiden Ondrus got Cedarville’s lone score on an 81-yard kickoff return with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Luke Gorzinski’s 25-yard pass to Ian Gorzinski made it 36-8, and Raab’s 40-yard return on a fumble recovery gave the Jets a 42-8 cushion with 17 seconds left in the first.

“He (Luke Gorzinski) is a special player,” said Barr. “He’s hard to handle. We’re also proud of our kids. We couldn’t be more proud of their effort.”

In the second stanza, Luke Gorzinski tossed a 56-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Casperson and scored on a three-yard run up the middle.

The Jets finished with 388 yards in total offense, gaining 145 on the ground and 243 through the air. Luke Gorzinski completed all eight of his passes for 230 and ran six times for 78. Cedarville was limited to 112 yards in total offense.

“People keep underestimating our defense,” said coach Gorzinski. “Coach John had his team playing lights out all season. Hats off to Cedarville. They never quit. We didn’t want to give them momentum. We like the people over there. It’s unfortunate Pickford couldn’t keep playing (due to Covid-19). We’re just thankful to be able to play.”

Cedarville 8 0 0 0 — 8

North Central 42 13 0 0 — 55

Scoring plays:

First quarter

NC — Naser, 86-yard kickoff return (run failed), 11:37

NC — Naser, six-yard run (L. Gorzinski run), 8:53

NC — L. Gorzinski, 59-yard pass to Naser (pass failed), 5:49

NC — W. Raab, 34-yard run (L. Gorzinski run), 2:11

C — Ondrus, 81-yard kickoff return (Ondrus run), 1:58

NC — L. Gorzinski, 25-yard pass to I. Gorzinski (L. Gorzinski run), :31

NC — W. Raab, 40-yard return on fumble recovery (run failed), :17

Second quarter

NC — L. Gorzinski, 56-yard pass to Casperson (pass failed), 9:47

NC — L. Gorzinski, three-yard run (Dani kick), 5:30

Statistics

Total offense: North Central 388 yards (145 rushing, 243 passing); Cedarville 112 yards (37 rushing, 79 passing).

Rushing: North Central (L. Gorzinski 6-78, W. Raab 2-49, Naser 4-18); Cedarville (Fountain 15-41, Hilts 6-minus-4, Kohlmann 1-0).

Passing: North Central (L. Gorzinski 8-8, 230 yards, three TDs, I. Gorzinski 1-1, 13 yards); Cedarville (Hilts 9-27, 79 yards).

Receiving: North Central (Naser 3-99, Casperson 2-64, W. Raab 1-28, I. Gorzinski 1-24, C. Eichmeier 1-15, L. Gorzinski 1-13); Cedarville (Fountain 3-38, Freel 3-24, Kohlmann 2-10, Ondrus 1-7).

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