Head Coach: Jason Doerffler (7th season)
2020 Schedule:
Aug. 21 at Homestead
Aug. 28 South Side
Sep. 4 at Wayne
Sep. 11 Carroll
Sep. 18 at Concordia
Sep. 25 Luers
Oct. 2 at Snider
Oct. 9 North Side
Oct. 16 at Dwenger
Key Returning Starters:
RB Damarius Cowen
WR/DB Darrius Sanders
OT/DT Jose Reducindo
OG/DE Jacob Smith
OLB Brayden Mudrack
OLB Sebastian McCormick
Key Losses:
RB Jeremiah Green
WR Qualen Pettus
DT Jaylyn Starks
DE Nigel Robertson
SS Antoine Scott
Northrop enters 2020 coming off their best season since 2006, after posting a 5-6 record, while also earning their first sectional victory since 2004. They beat Concordia in an exciting overtime game, nearly beat Dwenger on the road, and were 4-2 heading into their date with Snider. There was a lot of improvement seen in the 2019 Bruins, and though they didn’t score any huge victories, they’re happy with what they accomplished. But they’re even more excited about how that sets them up for this year.
“We definitely made some progress,” Coach Doerffler said. “We won some close games, we’ve been competitive in this league for a long time and it was good last year to squeak out some of those close wins as opposed to close losses, and we’re hoping to build on that this year.”
The most important piece of this offense this season will be RB Damarius Cowen. Cowen shared time with RB Jeremiah Green and the two performed very well together. Their numbers were similar, with Green rushing for 480 yds, 4.4 yds/car, and 7 TD and Cowen, expected to take a backseat last year, had 490 yds, 6.1 yds/car, and 4 TD of his own. Cowen is a physical, downhill runner and will be tasked with not only producing on the field, but also as a senior leader on this team.
“I take my role very seriously,” Cowen said. “I’ve always been taught that way. I feel like I have to really step it up for the younger running backs and they’ve been learning a lot from me, asking me questions.”
Cowen has a good offensive line to run behind, with players such as Jose Reducindo and Jacob Smith giving the line some size. The real questions on this offense will be who plays quarterback, and who will step up in place of Qualen Pettus at wide receiver. To answer the first, as of the time this article is being written, no starter has been named for Northrop.
“Kareem Freeman is a senior; he’s an excellent runner,” Coach Doeffler said. “He’s improved in the passing game and he was our JV quarterback last year. He offers a lot of things. He’s a great leader. He’s being pushed a little by sophomore Keone Bates, a really good athlete. They’re in a battle no question, but we’ll see how it plays out.”
Last season, Dylan Hoot (614 yds, 4 TD, 9 INT) and Issa Tchari (124 yds, 1 TD, 1INT) both saw time at quarterback, with neither posting a very impressive statline, both having a QB rating of less than 50. It’s an area Northrop would like to nail down this year and find some consistency in.
Wide receiver is another area of concern, with Qualen Pettus (24 rec, 336 yds, 2 TD) gone after having another terrific season. Senior Darrius Sanders could be one of the main wideouts, but he’s only caught 1 pass in his career at Northrop. The rest of the pass catchers are even less experienced.
Defense will be a strength however. Though the defensive line loses Jaylyn Starks (20 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks) and Nigel Robertson (49 tackles, 7 TFL, 3 sacks), they will return Jacob Smith and Jose Reducindo. At linebacker, it will be a pair of seniors, Brayden Mudrack and Sebastian McCormick, leading the way. Mudrack had 16 tackles, 1 TFL, and 1 sack while McCormick had 17 tackles and 1 INT. In the secondary, the Bruins will lose Antoine Scott, who had 40 tackles, 9 TFL, 1 INT, 1 sack, and 1 caused and recovered fumble. The aforementioned Darrius Sanders will be an impact player at defensive back in his place, looking to build off of 18 tackles, 2 INT, and 1 caused and recovered fumble in 2019.
“I think this is our best defense in 4 or 5 years,” DE Jacob Smith said. “We’ve got speed in the secondary, veterans up front, and we’ve got some hard hitting linebackers. The opportunities are endless this year on defense.”
Northrop’s schedule for the first half of this year is manageable, but it does start with a test against Homestead on the road. Regardless, Damarius Cowen is ready for the challenge.
“I expect the best from Homestead, they always bring it to us every year. But I feel like we have their number and we could beat them this year.”
