By JIM RUMBLE

Northgate football coach Mike Pipak has stated throughout the season how hard his team plays and the effort that they put in, even in defeat. Well, all of their hard work finally paid off. The Flames defeated Quaker Valley at home last Friday, 12-8.

"We did the things that we had to do defensively. Offensively, we moved the ball then sputtered a little," Pipak said after the game. He added, "This team really deserved to win with all of their hard work. They battled all night long."

Neither team was able to take advantage of the other team's mistakes in the opening period, and the game remained scoreless through the first quarter.

The Quakers’ turnover came first. Northgate's Joe Barker intercepted a pass to give the Flames good field position at the Quaker Valley 29. That all changed on the very next play, when a Northgate fumble was recovered by the Quakers on their own 46-yard line.

The Quakers got on the scoreboard first after pinning the Flames deep in their own end near the middle of the second quarter. Northgate was penalized for intentional grounding, which put the ball on the Flames’ 1-yard line. The Quakers recorded a safety on the next play to take a 2-0 lead.

Quaker Valley then took advantage of a short kick by the Flames and a good return to set up the game's first touchdown. Starting from the Northgate 22, the Quakers culminated a five-play drive with a 16-yard TD pass to up their lead to 8-0 by halftime.

Although the Flames were not able to take advantage of an interception by Mitch Vacek near the end of the third quarter, they did take full advantage when J.D. Hoover's interception gave Northgate possession at the Quaker Valley 42. Pat Carr took a hand-off up the middle on first down for a 42-yard TD run before the Flames came away empty on the two-point conversion and trailed 8-6 at the end of the third quarter.

Northgate's defense came up big late in the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble that the Flames recovered on the Quakers’ 4-yard line with 5:10 to play.

An encroachment penalty against Quaker Valley moved the ball to the 3-yard line before Carr ran in for the touchdown to put the Flames in front 12-8.

Northgate's defense continued to turn the Quakers away, getting an interception by Ryan Castleberry to end one threat, and then another interception by Carr in the end zone to end Quaker Valley's final drive.

"I'm so happy for these kids, because it’s all about them," Pipak said of the win.