Northwood defense takes over and Timberwolves capture 40-15 win over Cerritos

Lineman Xavier Cousar led Northwood past Cerritos Friday night. (File photo Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone)

Northwood’s football team used a strong defensive effort to defeat Cerritos 40-15 Friday night in the final nonleague game of the season.

The Timberwolves wrapped up non-league play with a 4-1 record.

“Northood had a great night on defense with Xavier Cousar wreaking havoc all night on Cerritos quarterbacks and running backs,” said Northwood Coach Paige Nobles.

“Max Tait also had a very good night making multiple tackles and putting pressure on the quarterback and making multiple sacks. Travis Arena was on fire last night both on offense and defense. On defense Travis made multiple hurries, sacks, tackles and also had a 47-yard fumble scoop and score recovery for a Northwood touchdown.”

Northwood’s offense was led by quarterback Jaden Piazza, who completed 10 of 19 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for one TD.

Jackson Baker had two catches and a TD reception, Nobles said.

“Daniel Kim made great work both running and receiving the ball and was rewarded by scoring two touchdowns,” Nobles said. “Jaden Piazza also added a rushing touchdown to keep Northwood ahead and never looking back.”

Nobles said he was satisfied with the overall performance of his squad.

“Overall, if I had to give an overall grade for the night I would rate my team’s performance last night  with a solid B plus,” he said. “Giving us a B plus lets my team know there is always room for improvement and we should never settle for just OK to good. We should be always striving for that great break out performance.”

Northwood opens Pacific Coast League play Friday against University (0-5) at Irvine Stadium.

“We finished pre-season 4-1 and going into league next Friday night against Uni will be a great contest between two evenly matched Irvine schools,” Nobles said. “I want to wish everyone in the PCL good luck going into league and I hope everyone stays healthy.”