September 15, 1995 By SCOTT DANIEL Sports Editor
Numbers don’t always tell the whole story in a football game — but one stat from Novi’s 25-7 home loss to Hartland Friday stands out: five turnovers.
An interception and four fumbles went a long way in sending the Wildcats to their second straight defeat.
“We were moving the ball,” coach John Osborne said. “But we just self-destructed.”
Novi had more than 200 yards of total offense. Most of those were rushing yards, which usually bodes well.
But not this time.
Also helping in the Wildcat demise was Hartland quarterback Jason Belko. He shredded Novi’s defense for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
“It was his passing that killed us,” Osborne said. “We were prepared for it, but it didn’t turn out that way.”
Novi tried to play the Eagle receivers one-on-one, but Hartland receivers were able to get behind the Wildcat secondary on several occasions for big gains.
The bottom line was another loss for the Green and White.
“It was a very disappointing loss,” said Osborne. “They were a good team. I thought we were too, but for the second week in a row we were shown otherwise.”
The picture doesn’t look much brighter as Novi travels to undefeated South Lyon’s jungle tomorrow.
“They have great backs and a great line,” said Osborne. “They’re a legitimate state contender.”
Friday’s game with Hartland started off on a bad note. The Wildcats tried an on-side kick, but failed to recover.
Hartland got good field position at its own 45-yard line as a result. Eight plays later, the Eagles made it 6-0.
Belko completed a third down pass to sustain the drive. He connected with Nate Whitmyer on a six-yard pass to complete the drive at the 8:00 minute mark.
The Wildcats had some trouble moving the ball on their first possession. After starting at their own 26-yard line, Novi moved steadily down the field.
Fullback Matt Buck rambled to Hartland’s 26-yard line after a blocking “snafu,” Osborne said. Hartland recovered to stop the drive.
After trading possessions, the Eagles scored again.
Hartland moved to Novi’s 2-yard line after a 46-yard pass by Belko. The Eagles’ Chris Kissi then punched it in for the TD. Hartland missed its second straight extra point and took a 12-0 lead into the locker rooms.
Osborne wasn’t happy with the first half and let the Cats know about it. Whatever was said worked, at least temporarily.
Novi’s Brandon Griffin responded with a 36-yard kickoff return to start the third quarter. The Wildcats started what turned out to be their lone scoring drive at their own 30.
Jason Witherspoon starred. He had a 22-yard run to move the ball deep into Hartland territory. He finished off the drive with a 40-yard run and cut the Eagle lead to 12-7.
Novi blocked a Hartland punt on the next series and seemed to be on a roll. The Wildcats took the ball over on the 43-yard line.
The Eagle defense responded, though. On a fourth down and one, Hartland stopped a quarterback sneak.
The game went quickly downhill from there.
Belko scored moments after the big play on a 44-yard run. Hartland added its final touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Osborne felt that the fourth down play that Hartland stopped was the difference in the game.
“We had it rolling for a few minutes,” he said. “But when they stopped that big play, I had a bad night.”
The Cats had several good performances.
Witherspoon rushed for 103 yards on 20 attempts. Chris Antala led all tacklers with 12, including 10 first hits.
Osborne said the loss took a lot of steam.
“McCally will be a, um, ugly well whipped,” he added. “But it’ll be difficult to overcome.”