HAMLER -- Early in the fourth quarter, No. 8 seed Northwood was giving No. 1 Patrick Henry all it could handle Friday night in a Division V, Region 18 quarterfinal at Patrick Henry.
Zach Bermejo's 1-yard touchdown run brought the Raiders within 27-14 with 11:24 left in the game, but the Patriots pulled away from there for a 41-14 win.
"They had a size advantage tonight. I knew they would have that advantage coming in, but they were a little more physical than we thought they were," Patrick Henry coach Bill Inselmann said.
The Patriots, who are 11-0, responded with two big plays to salt away the victory.
After Bermejo's TD, Justin Buenger broke through the center of the Northwood line for a 49-yard touchdown on the Patriots' ensuing possession, and after Patrick Henry forced a 3-and-out, Luke George caught a 51-yard touchdown pass from Kasey Spence to put the game out of reach.
Buenger and George had big games for the Patriots.
Buenger, who also scored on a 43-yard run on Patrick Henry's opening possession, rushed for 145 yards on 14 carries. George rushed for two touchdowns and gained 54 yards on 14 carries.
George completed 10 of 15 passes for 90 yards and also was Patrick Henry's second-leading receiver with 56 yards on two receptions.
The Patriots first used a formation featuring Spence behind center and George split wide in a key spot in a Week 7 game against Bryan. Since then, it's a look Patrick Henry has featured more and more.
"Kasey throws a good ball, and I think I'm athletic enough to go up and get a few," George said.
Inselmann said he liked the balance the passing game provided Friday. George and Spence combined to complete 16 of 23 passes for 201 yards. That was coupled with Patrick Henry's 224 yards on the ground.
"I'll take 16 for 23 passing any night, and no interceptions," Inselmann said.
Inselmann did have a bone to pick with his offense. Aside from Buenger's fourth-quarter run and an opening drive that featured six runs for 63 yards, the Patriots never really got the running game going.
"What I like to do is run successfully and mix the pass up," he said. "The biggest disappointment tonight is we didn't run as effectively as we could or should have. We did not have a consistent running game where we kept moving the chains."
Northwood's size likely played a factor in that. George said the Raiders' physical play was a wake-up call.
"They were bigger than us and they outhit us early," he said. "We kept our poise out there and started to play our game."
George stretched Patrick Henry's lead to 21-0 with second-quarter runs on 4 and 1 yards and it looked like the Patriots were on cruise control. A suffocating defense had allowed Northwood just six total yards in four possessions before Bermejo took an option pitch around left end for a 62-yard touchdown run with 3:34 left in the half.
"Defensively we played pretty well outside of that big run," Inselmann said. "We switched more to a 5-3 defense in the second half so they wouldn't break the option on us."
Northwood wasn't through yet, though. The Raiders got back in the game with a 14-play, 61-yard drive. Fullback Corey Jones, a load at 6-foot-1, 237 pounds, found some success running up the gut.
"We don't have any big backs like that," Inselmann said. "I've got a fast back, but we don't have have that size. I wish I had size to go along with that quick running back I have."
Bermejo had 97 yards on 8 carries for Raiders, with Jones chipping in 67 yards on 10 carries. Northwood quarterback Erik Russel completed just one pass for 12 yards and was sacked six times, including four in the second half as the Raiders were forced to go to the passing game.
Patrick Henry advances to play Jeromesville Hillsdale (9-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday at a site to be determined. George said the win over Northwood is just one step along the road for the Patriots.
"It's one game at a time," he said. "If we don't win the next one, we can't go on.
"Every game is like a championship game now."
Northwood 0 8 0 6 -- 14
Patrick Henry 7 20 0 14 -- 41
First Quarter
PH -- Buenger 43 run (Creager kick)
Second Quarter
PH -- George 1 run (Creager kick)
PH -- George 6 run (Creager kick)
NWD -- Bermejo 62 run (Romstadt from Russell)
PH -- Tonjes 3 pass from George (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
NWD -- Bermejo 1 run (run failed)
PH -- Buenger 49 run (Creager kick)
PH -- George 51 pass from Spence (Creager kick)
NWD PH
First Downs 7 15
Rushes-yards 36-132 41-224
Passing Yards 12 201
Comp-Att-Int 1-5-0 16-23-0
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 2-0
Penalties-Yards 2-3 1-13
individual statistics
rushing -- Northwood, Bermejo 8-97, Prothero 5-(-12), Pressley 3-11, Russell 10-(-31), Jones 10-67. Patrick Henry, Buenger 14-145, Miller 2-4, L. George 14-54, Rosebrook 4-9.
passing -- Northwood, Russell 1-5-0, 12. Patrick Henry, L. George 10-15-0, 90, Spence 6-8-0, 111.
receiving -- Northwood, Bermejo 1-12. Patrick Henry, L. George 2-56, Tonjes 7-78, Brubaker 1-30, A. George 1-20, Buenger 4-17.
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