Northwest football archive: Nov. 1, 1985

Eaton Rapids 28
Northwest 14

Mountie Stadium

Nov. 1, 1985

This story has been republished from the Leslie Local.

"Mounties Drop Season Finale -- 28-14"

By Jeff Rietsma

Albert Payne sure wasn't a very nice guest. Payne and the rest of the Eaton Rapids Greyhounds came to Northwest last Friday night and won the season finale in varsity football, 28-14.

Payne was like a robot...wind him up and watch him go. The 5'5" senior carried the ball 29 times for 300 yards, a record for most yards gained by an individual at Northwest's stadium.

It was pleasant weather for the season ending game. A warm strong wind blew steadily throughout the night while a near full house watched on band night.

Northwest got on the board first when senior Spencer Byrd dashed one yard for the touchdown with seven minutes left in the first quarter. The two-point conversion failed and Northwest led, 6-0. The 51-yard drive took 12 plays.

The Greyhounds came back on their very next possession when Payne scored one of his three touchdowns. The drive started from Northwest's 45-yard line. Five plays and an extra point later, the visitors led, 7-6. The score remained the same for the rest of the first half.

Eaton Rapids added 13 third quarter points and eight in the fourth quarter until Northwest got another touchdown when Spencer Byrd scored again -- this time from the six-yard line. Mountie quarterback Mike Richmond connected to Jay Ciokajlo for the two point conversion. That score came at the 8:58 mark and wrapped up the scoring for the 1985 season.

It was a bittersweet season for those senior's on this year's team. The squad finished with a 1-8 record, with the sole victory coming in the seventh game against Columbia Central, a 14-7 homecoming victory.

The Mounties gave 100 percent this year, but even with the strong effort, the injury of Ed Mosson was felt throughout the entire season.

"It's hard to determine how much of a factor he was, but these kids had to learn to play without him and they haven't done that before. It certainly had an impact on us somewhat, but we did our best to overcome that," said Mountie head coach Tom Goodwin.

Mosson broke his collarbone in the first game of the season against Jackson High. But Goodwin was quick to point out that Mosson wasn't the only player with excellent ability on this year's team.

"We still had some other good players. Take Bruce Thoms, Spencer Byrd, Kevin Miller and Mike Richmond. I think they performed extremely well," Goodwin said.

Unfortunately, the players he mentioned are all seniors who won't be back next year. Some other seniors those services will be missed include Scott Robertson, Jay Ciokajlo, Dave Weller, and Dan Sowers.

With 14 juniors on this year's team though, the 1986 season looks promising for Northwest.

"They're a good group of juniors. It all depends on what happens between now and next summer, and how much work they put into it," Goodwin added. Top prospects include Doug Decker, Jim Hanchett, Ross Dandurand, Brian David, Brian Wasilew, Greg Ciokajlo, and Mark Smith.

Northwest's offense scored a total of 77 points this season, while the defense gave up 173. A strong improvement over last year's team, who gained 58 points and gave up 256.

"Last year we were 0-9, so we improved 100 percent. It shows that we're a better football team this year," Goodwin reasoned.

Goodwin has completed his seventh season as head coach at Northwest, and sports a 21-41 record. One of his major accomplishments was in 1982 when his team won the Twin Valley league.

"That was one of my highlights here, but I can remember two or three other big ball games that we weren't supposed to win that we did. In 1981, the year Marshall won the Twin Valley Conference, we beat them and the number two team. Ironically, we lost to the the bottom three teams in the same year. But that's all part of the game."

One thing that Goodwin didn't overlook this season was the fan support. Even at away games, Northwest fans sometimes out-numbered the home team fans.

"That tells you a little bit about the parents, about the type of ball players we have, and a little bit about pride and enthusiasm. But the big thing is that the fans are there game after game and they supported us well," he said.

Against Eaton Rapids, Byrd and Richmond combined for 105 rushing yards. Richmond completed seven of 21 passes for 77 yards and no interceptions. The Mounties ended up with 280 total yards, to Eaton Rapids' 443 yards. Richmond and Ross Dandurand each handled five tackles.

Though the statistics favored Eaton Rapids, Northwest had a little bit more of something that Eaton Rapids didn't...pride. For nine weeks these same Mounties were out giving it their all, almost always in a losing effort.

But one thing that won't be forgotten about the season will be the seniors who played on this year's team. A group of athletes with a promising future.