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NCA Jets Answer Challenge In Crystal Falls, 60-42
 CRYSTAL FALLS---For 24 minutes, the game lived up to the hype. But then, the defending state champions got busy. The North Central Jets trailed the Forest Park Trojans, 26-22, at haftime, but scored 30 straight points in the third quarter and posted a 60-42 victory in Crystal Falls. The Jets passed their biggest test since moving to eight man football, except for last year's state title game, that is. The Jets had to deal with a Forest Park team that has been one of the state's best in eleven-man ball, and they had to deal with quarterback/running back Daniel Nocerini. And Nocerini got his team off to a good start with a 33-yard touchdown run. The Jets struck back on a 14-yard pass from Jason Whitens to Marcus Krachinski, and Whitens ran in the two-point play to make it 8-6. The Trojans regained the lead on a one-yard run by Jeremy Johnson, but Whitens immediately got that one back with a 61-yard TD pass to Trent Holle. The see-saw continued as Nocerini scored on a nine-yard touchdown run, but the Trojans missed their third straight two-point conversion, and led just 18-14. It took just two plays for the Jets to regain the lead as Tyler Bentley scampered right up the middle for an 80-yard touchdown. But just before halftime, Nocerini scored his third touchdown, this one from 22 yards out. Nocerini also ran in the two-point conversion, and it was a 26-22 lead for CFFP at halftime. Whatever the NCA coaches talked about at halftime worked in the third quarter as the Jets quieted the large, frenzied Crystal Falls crowd with a 30-point outburst that changed the game. First, Whitens hooked up with Krachinski again...this time for a 55-yard touchdown pass. The two-point pass to Krachinski made it 30-26. After the Trojans turned it over, the Jets struck again, with Whitens passing for a 35-yard touchdown to Holle. Bentley ran in the two-point conversion, making it a 38-26 game. And the Jets were just getting started. The best play of the game, perhaps, came when Bentley got the ball at his own 25-yard line, went down on one hand, broke a tackle, and sprinted for a 75-yard touchdown. Another two-point pass to Krachinski made it 46-26. And then the Trojans gave up a freebie when the ball was snapped over Nocerini's head and Zac Estrada fell on it in the end zone for the TD. And that was that. Thirty points for the Jets in the third quarter. None for the Trojans. A 52-26 lead for the Jets that allowed them to relax a bit in the fourth quarter. Crystal Falls scored two touchdowns in the final quarter, including one with 14 seconds left in the game, to make the score look closer. Whitens scored NCA's fimal touchdown on a 27-yard run. To summarize it, the game did boil down to Whitens being Whitens, with his supporting cast stepping up all night long. Whitens had four touchdown passes...two each to Krachinski and Holle. Bentley had the two long TD runs. And Nocerini was kept under control. North Central will be on the road for a third straight week next Friday, at Ontonagon. (Photo of Krachinski's touchdown courtesy of WJMN Local Three) |
