North Star secures No. 2 seed in D5-1A playoffs with lopsided victory
BOSWELL — Connor Yoder saved what may have been the most prolific passing game of his career for his final regular-season outing.
North Star’s senior quarterback threw for 370 yards and an incredible seven touchdowns — all before halftime — to power the Cougars to a 49-35 romp over West Branch on Friday night.
“It was the offense that we’ve worked on all year, and it was on display tonight,” North Star coach Bob Landis said. “Up and down the field scoring points. That’s a tribute to what we’ve built here over the last four years with him (Yoder) as the centerpiece.”
The Cougars (7-3) recorded their seventh win, the most for the program in a single season since 2012. They’ll also make a playoff appearance for the first time in a decade when they host Windber on Friday night at 7 p.m. in the District 5 Class 1A semifinals.
North Star will seek to mirror what it did well in its 41-20 regular-season win over Windber back on Sept. 22.
For a brief moment in the opening minutes, it appeared as though West Branch might have been capable of matching North Star’s production.
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Instead, the exact opposite transpired after the Warriors tied the game at 7-all less than three minutes in on senior quarterback Tyler Biggans’ 37-yard touchdown scamper.
For the next 20-plus minutes, North Star strung together 42 unanswered points while looking every bit like the offensive machine that posted at least 28 points in eight games and at least 41 on four different occasions.
It took just 50 seconds for North Star to scratch first after Yoder hit junior Ethan Smith streaking up the left sideline for a 74-yard touchdown.
Before the Warriors (5-5) even had a chance to catch their breath, Yoder tossed two more touchdowns in the first via a 68-yard screen to Smith and a 12-yard strike to senior receiver Glendon Griffith. The Cougars never looked back.
Less than three minutes into the second, Yoder once again found Smith in stride for a 68-yard score to push the lead to 28-7.
Smith, who also had an interception and fumble recovery, finished with five catches for 241 yards and three touchdowns. Ethan Eller caught four passes for 52 yards and two touchdowns from 9 and 10 yards out late in the first half to provide the Cougars with a 49-7 advantage at intermission.
“It feels great. Definitely a good way to send off in the last regular-season game,” said Yoder, who was one of 12 seniors honored pregame for Senior Night. “Just trusted my playmakers, threw the ball up when I thought it was there and it all panned out tonight for the best.”
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This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Yoder, North Star's aerial assault overpower West Branch
