Adam Harper leads Northwood into CIF finals with help from some of his friends

Northwood players (from left) Ace Jacobs, Adam Harper, Jan Abuelsad and Coach JC Clarke lead the Timberwolves into the CIF finals Friday. (Photo: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Northwood’s football team will be looking for junior running back Adam Harper to lead the way on offense as it takes on Long Beach Jordan in the CIF Division 11 championship Friday night at 7 at Irvine Stadium.

Harper has been the spark for the Timberwolves and has had some big games, rushing for 202 yards in the season opener vs. Crean Lutheran and four touchdowns and 242 yards to help Northwood defeat Beckman and clinch its first league title since 2003.

The Timberwolves are in the CIF finals for the first time since 2005.

Coach JC Clarke has been impressed with Harper but said the development of the Northwood offensive line has also been instrumental in the team’s success on the ground. Harper acknowledged that as well this week.

“I love these guys, they block for me and they do a lot of work for me,” he said, referring to two of the linemen, Ace Jacobs and Jan Abuelsad. “They’ve helped me accomplish what I’ve accomplished this season and I owe it all to them.”

The linemen have been pleased with the results too.

“It’s amazing, every few plays I’ll be blocking and I’ll just see him run past me and go 20 or 30 yards, he’s really an exceptional player,” said Abuelsad, a junior left tackle.

“He’s special, whichever team has Adam Harper has a huge advantage so I’m really grateful he’s on our team,” added Jacobs, a senior.

All three players are looking forward to Friday’s finals.

“Now that I look back I realize we have definitely gotten better and this is a big accomplishment for us,” Harper said. “I knew we were a good team and had not really been in the playoffs and didn’t know all the talent out there in Division 11 so I had no idea what we could do.”

The Timberwolves had to battle back from an early deficit to win 16-12 on the road in the semifinals against Vista Del Lago.

“That was our first playoff game that we kind of hit a wall,” Harper said. “We were down. The first two games we were able to do pretty well, but this last game, we were down early and we just had to pick ourselves up and keep grinding and we were able to pull it out.”

Abuelsad said hard work has paid off.

“Honestly we’ve been working at it all season,” he said. “When we got into the playoffs, we’ve been basically taking it one game at a time. We know it’s been a battle in the trenches, our O-Line and D-Line have been a big part of that. We kind of set the way for the skilled guys and they do all the hard work, we do all the dirty work.”

Jacobs said he and his teammates are thrilled to still be playing,

“My Pop Warner coach, Coach Tim O’Donoghue always used to say, ‘if you’re still playing when the Christmas lights come on, you’ve had yourself a good season’ so when I drive around and I see Christmas lights up, I’m proud of the way the team has peaked at the right time in league and in the playoffs and we’re really doing our best.”

He also credited Clarke, the head coach, who took the job in late summer.

“It’s been hard since we’ve had four head coaches in four years with that continuous change but Coach Clarke has been there all four years as the defensive coach and he’s been a steady force and we buy in to the idea that defense wins championships,” said Jacobs. “(With) mostly juniors and a senior line, we’ve worked together and gotten better as the season goes on to keep winning.”

–Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com