“It felt good,” Shaffer said. “It felt good to get back into the end zone.”
Shaffer’s TD reception gave the Warriors a 14-0 lead, en route to a 34-0 victory over Greenon on Friday night at Taylor Field.
Shaffer entered the season as Warriors quarterback last season after throwing for seven TDs passes as a sophomore. He started the season opener against Southeastern, but suffered a herniated disk that would keep him off the field the rest of the season.
The TD catch was his first touchdown since Week 7 of the 2021 season.
“No kid deserves it more,” said Warriors football coach Lance Lambert. “When you talk about handling adversity, he played one game last year and comes into camp and we changed positions on him. For him to get paid, get that touchdown catch there — that’s a selfless kid that deserves it.”
The Warriors improved to 1-1 on the season. They had won just one game in the past two years.
Northwestern sophomore quarterback Ried Smith went 15-for-19 for 191 yards and four touchdown passes and junior Braydon Moore caught five passes for 120 yards and two TDs in the victory. Defensively, the Warriors held Greenon to 116 yards of total offense and caused four turnovers.
“It’s great to come out and dominate like we did, pitch a shutout,” Shaffer said. “We haven’t done that in a long time.”
Northwestern is seeking its first winning season since going 6-4 in 2019. Lambert earned his first coaching victory on Friday night — the same night the West Jefferson grad was inducted into his alma mater’s athletics hall of fame. Warriors athletic director Brad Beals gave Lambert the game ball while speaking to the team after the game.
“He’s bringing a whole different brand of Northwestern football,” Shaffer said. “They’re going to be good for years to come.”
The Warriors travel to Miami East (1-1) in Week 3. The Vikings beat Greenon 28-6 in Week 1 but fell to Carlisle 34-20 on Friday.
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