The Northeastern Knights, alone at the top of the Tri-Eastern Conference standings, stepped out of conference play on Friday, Oct. 4, with a trip to Middletown to face the Shenandoah Raiders. The Raiders, members of the Mid-Eastern Conference, arrived on a two game win streak and got into a first quarter shootout with the Knights, only trailing 16-14 after one quarter and maintaining that score at halftime.
In the second half the Knight defense clamped down to become a brick wall, while their offense kicked into gear, outscoring the Raiders 26-6 en route to a 42-20 win. A fourth quarter Raider touchdown came well after the outcome of the game had been decided. Possession time was nearly even. The Raiders ran 66 plays, the Knights ran 64 but the Knights were more productive.
The Knights led in every statistical category, accumulating 217 passing yards to the Raiders` 167, and rushing for 220 yards against 156 for the Raiders.
Blake Waters connected on nine of 18 pass attempts for 162 yards. Colton Creech connected with Trent Deloney for a 55 yard touchdown on his only pass attempt of the game. Dylan Ross was a workhorse for the Knights, gaining 126 yards on 20 carries and scoring two touchdowns. Waters rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Creech carried the ball five times for 24 yards and scored two touchdowns. Kale Hansen scored on a two point conversion and Marshall Phillips kicked four extra points.
The Knight defense was led by Zane Schneider with 15 tackles. Dakota May had 11 tackles and Thane Berger and Phillips each had seven. Charlie Shaffer had two sacks and Isaac Gray recovered a fumble.
The Knights will return to TEC action on Friday, Oct. 11 when they entertain Knightstown in a key matchup.
Northeastern (7-0) 16 0 6 20 42
Shenandoah (4-3) 14 0 0 6 20
A version of this article appeared in the October 9 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.