“We’re definitely excited,” said Jets coach Jake Buchholtz. “It’s one of those things where we’re taking it one game at a time and really focusing on the opponent for that week. The kids have just really bought into what we’re selling as a staff. I think a lot of them are seeing their hard work over these past four or five years since they were in seventh and eighth grade really starting to pay off.”
The best thing about their start, Buchholtz said, is that his team isn’t satisfied.
“It’s neat to be 2-0 and we talked about it after the game,” he said, “but the best thing about being 2-0 is that you have a chance to go 3-0. We’ll take it one game at a time.”
In 1992, Northeastern senior quarterback Sam Ricketts — who later starred at Miami — threw for two TDs and ran for another as the Jets defense caused eight turnovers en route to a 55-0 victory at Miami East on Sept. 11, 1992. Northeastern finished the season 10-0 under legendary coach Jerry Wasserman, falling to Brookville 36-7 in a D-IV regional semifinal game.
After beating Riverside, Buchholtz knew it was the first time the program had gone 2-0 since he took over five years ago. He didn’t know the 2-0 drought had lasted 30 years.
“I’m just happy for our guys,” Buchholtz said. “We coach our kids really hard and to have success validates a lot of things we do in the offseason. It’s cool. I know we’ve got a handful of dads who played on that team. It’s nice to see our kids have some success of their own.”
The Jets have outscored their opponents 86-0 in the first two weeks of the season. Northeastern senior quarterback Cade Houseman has thrown for 318 yards and two TDs through the air and rushed for 111 yards and a TD. The running game has been led by junior Cody Lookabaugh (190 yards, two TDs), sophomore Garrett Chadwell (177 yards, three TDs) and senior Hunter Albright (52 yards, three TDs). Jets senior Dylan Haggy has caught 10 passes for 190 yards and a TD.
“Even last year, we’ve had success but it’s been very pinpoint on certain kids having really good nights,” Buchholtz said. “Teams were able to gameplan to stop one aspect of what Northeastern does. This year we have a decent amount of athletes who can hurt you in different ways. … We have a lot of options that make it tough to game plan for.”
Defensively, freshman linebacker Cody Houseman leads the Jets with 25 tackles, while Gunner Leonard has four tackles for loss and two sacks. Albright has also been a force at defensive end with a sack and three tackles for loss, Buchholtz said.
“They came out and set the tone early (against Riverside) and played really physical,” he said. “Our offense feeds off of that. A lot of our kids go both ways.”
They’ll face a much greater challenge on Friday against Greeneview (2-0), last year’s OHC South Division champion. The Jets beat the Rams 19-6 last season in Springfield.
“(Greeneview coach Ryan Haines) does a great job and he’s got a really good staff,” Buchholtz said. “We know they’re going to be well-coached and physical. … We know that not only are they a really good opponent, but they’re a team that’s in Division V, Region 20 and we may see them later on down the line. It’s a good test for our program to see where we’re at.”
Springfield tickets available online only
Fans planning to attend Springfield High School’s first home football game of the season can only purchase tickets online. The Wildcats play Trotwood-Madison at 7 p.m. Friday.
Tickets can not be purchased at the gate. The same goes for all other Springfield athletic events.
That was a reminder Athletic Director Mike Dellapina wanted to send to fans on Thursday. Tickets can be purchased at https://events.ticketspicket.com/home.
Springfield’s season opener at Saint Ignatius was cancelled because of lightning, and the Wildcats instead traveled to Indianapolis for their first game last weekend. They beat a team from St. Louis, De Smet Jesuit, 29-22. -- David Jablonski, Staff Writer
WEEK 3 SCHEDULE
Friday’s games
All games at 7 p.m.
Trotwood at Springfield
Graham at Shawnee
Catholic Central at West Liberty-Salem
Northeastern at Greeneview
Greenon at West Jefferson
Fairbanks at Southeastern
Miami East at Northwestern
Tecumseh at Bellbrook
Kenton Ridge at Benjamin Logan
Urbana at Northland
Mechanicsburg at Madison Plains
Cedarville at Triad
About the Author