Unable to develop the passing game on a swamp-like playing field, Northlake Christian School and St. Thomas Aquinas were forced to take to the ground at William Pitcher Field on Friday night. The Falcons took advantage of two first half scores and rode their running back tandem to a 10-0 victory with district title implications.

STA (6-3) moved to 3-0 in District 8-2A, while NCS (6-3) dropped to 2-2 in district action.

The St. Thomas backfield duo of seniors Brandon Robertson and Brandon Loria combined for 164 yards on 39 carries, and Ethan Bleakley scored the only touchdown of the game on a 24-yard quarterback bootleg. The Falcons gained 205 yards of offense, including 147 in the first half before playing conditions took a turn for the miserable. The teams combined for 51 yards and two interceptions through the air.

NCS’ Mallery Mele wraps up St. Thomas Aquinas running back Brandon Loria during Friday night’s district encounter played in Covington. STA blanked NCS 10-0 to move to 3-0 in District 8-2A play. NCS (6-3) stands at 2-2 in district. (Photo by Mike McCall)

“Any time it’s like that, it’s going to impact what you can do offensively,” Northlake Christian coach Anthony Agresta said. “All you try to do is find something you can do and go back to it as much as you possibly can.”

After a scoreless first quarter, STA drove 75 yards to the Wolverines 3-yard line only to be stopped by a swarming NCS defense. The Falcons were forced to settle for a 20-yard field goal courtesy of Scott Sledge.

“That was terrible play calling on my part during our first trip to the red zone,” St. Thomas coach John White said. “But we had a freshman step up there and hit a crucial field goal.”

The seven-minute, 17-second drive spanned 17 plays and 75 yards, giving STA the lead with 9:47 remaining before halftime.

After forcing a quick punt by Northlake Christian, the Falcons went right back to work, pounding the defense for impressive chunks of yardage. On a third-and-seven deep in NCS territory at the 24, Bleakley faked a handoff to Robertson and took off in the other direction. The Wolverines defense appeared to take the bait, and Bleakley ran unopposed into the end zone to score the game’s only touchdown.

“They made a nice call on the naked bootleg by the quarterback,” said Agresta. “The funny thing was, we had prepared for that all week long. It just happens.”

Though the Wolverines drove into STA territory several times during the course of the game, the offense was unable to score against a physical Falcons defense. Penalties and turnovers appeared at inopportune times for NCS.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Timmy Broussard completed a toss to Josh Seale that would have set Northlake Christian up with first-and-ten inside the St. Thomas 20 yard line. On the next STA possession, linebacker Cliff Hall stripped the ball away from Loria, and teammate Tyler Clark recovered. The Wolverines then proceeded to turn the ball over on downs.

“Every time we seemed to get a little bit of a drive going, we either get called for some kind of penalty or we have a bad exchange,” Agresta said. “It kind of put a damper on a few drives.”

Playing conditions and field position also did not appear to favor the Northlake Christian effort.

“Field position had a lot to do with what happened tonight too,” Agresta said. “It seemed like every time they’d punt the ball to us, we had a long field, and every time we punted the ball to them, it seemed like they only had half the field left.”

The Wolverines finished the game with 129 total yards, 103 of which were earned on the ground. Broussard led all NCS rushers with 62 yards on 15 carries. Along with his forced fumble, Hall also sacked Bleakley for an 11 yard loss near the end of the third quarter.

“They played better than us, and they deserved the win,” said Agresta. “Give them all the credit.”

Though the Wolverines will not be competing for a district title this season, a chance at postseason play appears promising. Northlake Christian will conclude the regular season Friday, traveling to Springfield to battle the Bulldogs. �