Northlake Christian School’s Wolverines hung tough for three quarters against the Newman Greenies Friday night at William Pitcher Field in Covington, but were reminded by the Greenies’ outstanding quarterback, Wes Luquette, that football is a four quarter sport, as Newman rode the wave of Luquette’s four second quarter touchdown passes to clip the Wolverines 42-20 in a non district contest that dropped Northlake’s record to 1-2 for the season. 

Luquette finished the night with 210 yards passing with six touchdowns overall, as the Wolverines second quarter collapse put them in too deep a hole to pull out of, despite improved play in the second half.

As the game started, the Wolverines’ first offensive possession was a harbinger of things to come as Northlake was forced to punt after just three plays. After a Wolverines’ punt allowed Newman to take possession at its own 20 yard line, NCS was able to come up with an early stop of the Greenies’ offense when Derek Williams recovered a Newman fumble on the 50, giving the Wolverines an excellent chance for an early advantage. 

Derek Williams (9) carries the ball against Newman Greenies in Friday night'€™s contest played at William Pitcher Junior High School. (Photo by Gwen Ladner)

Unfortunately, NCS’ offense sputtered once again, and the Wolverines were forced to punt after just three plays.

The two teams then exchanged punts once again and the Northlake defense seemed to be holding its own until, with four minutes remaining in the quarter, Luquette completed a 30 yard pass to Jeff Hampton that started a 67 yard, eight play drive that concluded with a five yard pass from Luquette to Ronnie Vinson to give the Greenies a 7-0 lead. After receiving the ensuing kickoff, the Wolverines’ offense struggled as Wolverine quarterback Timmy Broussard was constantly harassed as he attempted to drop back, or roll out to pass.

The first quarter ended with the Wolverines down just 7-0, but having to punt once again, without having achieved one first down in the four offensive series they ran during the period.

The second quarter scoring onslaught by Newman began early, as Luquette found Hampton for a 33-yard touchdown pass with only about 90 seconds elapsed in the period. 

Newman then forced the Wolverines into their fifth straight three-and-out, and heavy pressure on the punt allowed for a short kick as the Greenies then took over possession at the Wolverines’ 42.

On the first play of the drive, Vinson slashed and cut through the Wolverine defense for a 35 yard run that set Luquette up for a seven yard scoring strike to Hampton, that gave Newman a 21-0 lead. 

On their next offensive possession, the Wolverines were stopped three-and-out once again, and another short punt allowed Newman to take over on the 50. Luquette quickly went to work again, with a 15-yard completion to Wil Langenstein, which he then followed up with a 35 yard touchdown pass to Langenstein just three plays later.

The Wolverines were able to manage their only first down of the first half on their next possession, but then followed the first down with a penalty and a series of incomplete passes that forced them to punt from their 17. After just a 25 yard punt, Newman scored once again in just four plays on a five yard touchdown pass from Luquette to Vinson with just 23 seconds on the clock, giving Newman a commanding 35-0 halftime lead.

The Wolverine defense toughened up in the third quarter, as they allowed the Greenies only one score, a 20-yard TD from Luquette to Hampton with 3:34 remaining in the period. Toward the end of the period, NCS’ offense came alive, as Broussard led the Wolverines on a drive that consumed the reminder of the period and left the Wolverines at the Newman 16 as the fourth period began. 

On the third play of the fourth quarter, Broussard scored on a nifty 14-yard run that brought the score to 42-6, as the Wolverines’ attempt at a two- point conversion failed. NCS then recovered an onsides kick that allowed them to take over possession of the ball once again at midfield. Northlake then needed just six plays to score, this time on an 18-yard pass from Broussard to Alex Reed to make it 42-13. 

The Wolverine rally continued late into the fourth period when inside linebacker Tyler Clark recovered a fumble in the end zone with a little over two minutes remaining. 

Unfortunately, the Wolverines’ rally was too little and too late as the clock became their enemy.

Broussard’s passing statistics told the tale of the night as he was 2-of-10 in the first half for just nine yards. He heated it up going 7-for-10 in the second half for 64 yards and a touchdown. 

The Wolverines were also led by Broussard’s 63 yards rushing on 15 carries with most of those yards being gained late in the third quarter and into the fourth quarter.  Northlake finished with 100 yards rushing and 73 yards passing. They won the turnover battle 2-0. Additionally both Reed and Cody Jones finished the night with four solo tackles.

After the game, Wolverine coach Rowland Skinner told his team that he was proud of the way they continued to battle back even after they were down by 42 points. Skinner also indicated to his team that he thought they played reasonably good defense for three quarters, but that he was a little disappointed with the team’s struggles on offense for the first three periods.

This week, the Wolverines take on another Class 2A opponent, as they travel to Slidell to take on the Pope John Paul II Jaguars.