PHOTOS: Northwood celebrates after winning first league title since 2003

Northwood Coach JC Clarke talks to his players after Thursday’s win. (Photos Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Northwood High running back Adam Harper and his teammates were on a mission Thursday night to make history.

Mission accomplished.

Harper and company came through with a clutch performance as the Timberwolves defeated Beckman 30-9 in a Pacific Valley League game at Irvine Stadium to help Northwood win its first football league title since 2003.

Harper scored four touchdowns and rushed for 242 yards on 20 carries to help lead Northwood (5-5, 3-0). It was homecoming for Northwood.

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“Our coaches have been telling us all week that our school hasn’t won it in 18 years,” said Harper, a junior. “That’s what we’ve been fighting for this whole year. League champs was the goal and we keep getting better every week and we got our goal and we’re league champs now and it’s a great feeling. I thought we could do it from the beginning but now it’s happened.”

Harper got Northwood off to a great start with a 64-yard TD run in the first quarter.

Northwood will be the league’s No. 1 representative in the CIF playoffs that begin next week.

“We got a special group and I think we can go pretty far, if we keep working hard, we can do some damage,” Harper said.

Northwood Coach J.C. Clarke, the long-time Northwood assistant coach who is in his first year leading the Timberwolves, was also excited about the title.

“I’m really happy for the kids,” Clarke said. “We started out slow this year but we got better,” he said. “We kept telling the kids you get better by practicing and I really think they bought into it. We’re still getting better. Adam Harper is tremendous, he’s really an amazing young man.”

Harper also had an 8-yard TD in the second quarter, a 44-yard TD run in the third quarter and an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Beckman (2-8, 1-2) played Northwood tough in the first half. The Patriots cut the lead to 7-3 on a 33 yard field goal by Alex Diego early in the second quarter.

The Patriots freshman quarterback Nick Molina connected with Justin Sevilla on an 11-yard TD pass to stay within striking distance. Northwood led 14-9 at the break.

But the Northwood defense shut out Beckman in the second half. The Timberwolves also cut down on the numerous penalties that plagued them in the first half and Harper was able to seal the deal.

“The offensive line has really come on,” Clarke said. “The defensive line has come on. We tell those kids they don’t get the glory, that’s where you win the games and I really believe the offensive and defensive lines have won it for us.”

Molina passed for 90 yards for Beckman.

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