Coldwater comes up just short, falls by one point to Northwest on Homecoming
COLDWATER – The Coldwater Cardinals suffered a crushing defeat in prep football action Friday night, dropping a razor thin 7-6 decision to the visiting Northwest Mounties on Homecoming night.
The back-and-forth battle came down to a single missed extra point early in the third quarter for the Cardinals, who fell to 0-7 on the season.
“I saw a team that grew up tonight, right in front of our eyes,” Coldwater head coach Jeff Schorfhaar said. “I mean, it is tough that we lost, but tonight this team was physical, and they just went out and played a game of football, something we have been looking for from them for six weeks. Up to this point in the season, we really haven’t been close to a complete team. It’s been very frustrating for us as coaches and for a lot of the kids because we have had some bright spots, we’ve had guys give it their all, and we’ve had guys who are just along for the ride, but tonight they all came together and played a complete game.”
After a scoreless first half that saw the teams trade turnovers, it was Coldwater breaking the tie on their first drive of the second half.
Power run game breaks scoreless tie
Coldwater opened the third quarter with a new offensive strategy, going straight power run.
The Cardinals used a long and grinding drive that ate up over six minutes of time in the third quarter, eventually scoring on a 21-yard touchdown run by quarterback Zach Coffing, who carried multiple would-be tacklers into the endzone. In what would prove to be a huge miscue, the extra point was wide left, giving Coldwater the 6-0 lead with 5:45 left in the third quarter.
Coldwater defense plays stout, penalties derail Cardinal plans
The Coldwater defense came up huge on the next Mountie drive as Northwest found their way down the field as the quarter ended, with the score still holding at 6-0 in favor of Coldwater. On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Cardinals defense stonewalled Northwest, stopping the Mounties on a fourth and goal from the 3-yard line, leading to a turnover on downs.
After a big play from Coldwater Nasseem Taha pushed the Cardinals out of the shadow of their own goalposts and near midfield, three straight false start penalties from the Coldwater line absolutely obliterated the drive, leading to a punt.
The punt was a booming kick and looked to be down well inside the 20-yard line; however, once again, penalty flags flew. Offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties led to a do over on the punt, which Northwest gladly accepted, as this time they took over at the 49-yard line with 7:53 left in the game.
Disaster for the Coldwater defense
Coldwater’s defense has struggled all season long giving up the big play, but Friday night the Cardinals were stout, holding Northwest largely in check. That was, until the 6:02 mark of the fourth quarter.
On a second and long, Northwest quarterback Gabriel Christner fired deep to a streaking Charles Simpkins down the left sideline. Simpkins was liberal in his push off from the Coldwater defender, allowing the senior to haul in the catch. Simpkins outran the rest of the Cardinal defense, scoring on the 41-yard touchdown catch. Northwest banged home the extra point, giving the Mounties a 7-6 lead with just over six minutes left.
One Last Chance
Coldwater had one last chance and methodically moved the ball down the field, once again using a power run attack. The Cardinals did call a well-set-up screen pass on fourth and medium that worked to perfection, giving Coldwater a big first down.
Coldwater continued their trek toward the endzone and a possible winning score before facing a key fourth down and 3 from the 23-yard line with 1:09 left in the game. On the ensuing play, Coffing dropped back to pass and looked deep, but the pass was off the mark and was knocked down, falling harmlessly to the turf, leading to a turnover on downs.
Northwest ran out the clock, eventually taking the final snap in victory formation, finding the final score of 7-6.
They Said It
“It’s unfortunate to come out of here with a loss, but we played a heck of a football game tonight,” Schorfhaar said. “Going forward, we just need to watch the penalties. That really shot us in the foot today. We had to have had over 100 yards in penalties. We just need to build on what we saw today. That effort, it is great to finally see that passion. We just need to direct it and finish out strong.”
More: Bronson football blanked in loss to Buchanan
Up Next
With the win, Northwest improves to 4-3 overall on the season and 2-2 in the Interstate 8 and will next see action Friday when it travels to league-leading Hastings. Coldwater, meanwhile, falls to 0-7 overall on the year and 0-4 in the Interstate 8. The Cardinals will host one more game this season as they welcome Harper Creek to town next week for Senior Night.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Coldwater football comes up one point short of Northwest on Homecoming
