The Northwestern High School football team will be looking to end a losing streak today, but so will the visiting Hayward Hurricanes.
Northwestern enters the game with a 1-2 record after dropping its past two games. Hayward, 0-3 overall, is hoping for its first victory of the season and its first win against the Tigers since 2008.
Turnovers have been a problem for both the Tigers and the Hurricanes early this season.
Hayward lost a pair of fumbles and threw two interceptions last week in its 13-6 loss to Cumberland, and Northwestern had one fumble and one interception in its 32-16 loss to Bloomer.
Tigers head coach Dennis Scherz said inexperience has caused many of Northwestern’s blunders.
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“I’ve got what now, eight juniors and one sophomore on offense?” Scherz said. “They’re just going to get better and better each week.”
Running back Nate Pearson leads Northwestern for the season with 417 yards rushing. He ran for more than 200 yards in the Tigers’ loss to Grantsburg, but he was held to just 69 yards last week as the Blackhawks made stopping the junior their priority.
This week, Scherz said he hopes to keep Hayward’s defense honest by going to the air more often.
Sophomore quarterback Matt Lindsay completed 2-of-6 passes for 67 yards against Bloomer, including a 62-yard touchdown pass to Nick Johnson. Scherz said Lindsay can bring new elements to Northwestern’s passing game, but the team still needs to deliver on game night.
“This is a year that we definitely have kids who can catch the ball, but until we put it together on a Friday night, we’ll just have to wait and see,” Scherz said.
The Tigers have averaged just over 23 points per game this season, but they’re also giving up an average of 24 points.
Hayward, meanwhile, has allowed opponents to score 27 points per game while fielding only 11.3. The Hurricanes had a stronger defensive effort last week - holding Cumberland to 13 points - but offense continues to be a challenge.
Quarterback Cory Yoder was 7-of-15 for 77 yards against Cumberland and ran for an additional 30 yards. Howe Leuschen was Hayward’s top rusher for the night with 60 yards on the ground.
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Tonight’s game begins at 7 p.m. at the Gordon L. Nelson Sports Complex in Maple.
NOTES: Last season at Hayward, Pearson and Micah Goetsch led the Tigers with two touchdowns apiece. Pearson ran for 159 yards in the game and Goetsch ran for 71. The Tigers led 14-0 at halftime, 28-0 after three quarters and won 35-7. … Brian Trettin, former coach of the Northwood-Solon Springs Evergreens, is in his first year as head coach of the Hurricanes. Trettin is a 2001 graduate of Superior High School.
