Northeast defense plays well, offense comes up short in 17-7 loss at Dublin

From the same spot on the field on two consecutive possessions, it became clear that one thing would define the top-tier showdown between region powerhouses Northeast and Dublin: defensive stands.

Both the Raiders and Irish came into the game boasting potent, high-flying offenses. At the 6-yardline twice in the final minutes, though, Northeast couldn’t punch it in. 

The two empty drives told the story of the Raiders’ 17-7 loss to Dublin Friday night at the Shamrock Bowl, as the Irish were able to hold Northeast’s offense out of the end zone all game long.

Down by two scores late, the Raiders elected to try for a touchdown on both possessions inside the 10-yardline.

“We were in the red zone two or three times and didn’t capitalize tonight,” Raiders head coach Jeremy Wiggins said. “We have to finish those drives… they were blitzing us, they were pinning us and I just felt like if we could get some creases we could run it.”

The win kept the Fighting Irish undefeated on the season and, though the offense did not soar to its usual heights, showcased an impressive defense in one of Dublin’s first true tests of the year.

“It’s obviously a huge game because these are two highly-ranked, quality teams,” Irish head coach Roger Holmes said. “We won’t play a whole lot of people as good as them, I don’t think. We made some mistakes here and there, jitters, you might say, but at the end of the night, our defensive coaches. God, what a game plan, to hold that bunch.”

Northeast’s only points of the evening came on a scoop-and-score after the Irish fumbled in their own territory right at the end of the first half. The Raiders’ defense held strong against a Dublin team that had gained a reputation for scoring points galore against all comers so far this season.

Northeast found less success on the offensive side. Star running back Nick Woodford broke off some chunk plays in the second half to get up to 81 yards on the ground for the night, but he had only 9 yards rushing in the first two quarters against a stout Irish front.

Dublin, meanwhile, thrived on slick, shifty rushing plays — backs Willie Batts, Travion Bostic and Xavier Bostic gashed the Raiders for chunk plays and chewed clock to rack up 300 yards of rushing on the dot. 

Irish quarterback Micah O’Neal hardly had to throw, but distributed the ball well on option plays and ran the backfield smoothly.

“I think Micah played a great game that might not necessarily show up on the stat sheet,” Holmes said. “He managed things for us. We kept things rolling that way.”

Both teams had some penalty problems throughout the game — Northeast ended up with 10, Dublin with 12. Many of those came in the final two minutes of the games, with officials tossing out false starts and offsides flags left and right.

“Some penalties and things that we need to fix and hopefully we learn from this one,” Wiggins said. “Going into this one, we kind of knew it was going to be a big test. We wanted this one, just couldn’t finish it.”

A tale of two defenses

The first quarter was all defense for both squads, though the Irish looked more crisp early thanks to a polished run game that the Raiders struggled with.

Still, Northeast held its ground for most of the first two quarters. Dublin chewed the clock often, though, and eventually took a 7-0 lead after a long drive ended in an O’Neal sneak for a 1-yard score.

The Raiders’ running game was the exact opposite — Woodford struggled to get anything going, tallying only 9 yards on the ground in the first half. Glover had a bit more success, but only after scrambling to avoid sacks. 

Northeast also tried its hand at the short passing game as well, but Glover overthrew several screen passes that led to empty possession.

It looked like Dublin would take control for good when, after another clock-grinding drive in the second quarter, Batts punched it in from 5 yards out for an Irish touchdown to make it 14-0.

With about 5:30 left in the half, Northeast cobbled together its first effective drive of the night. Glover ran for 19 yards to convert a long third down, then hit Josh Evans for a quick 20 yards to move the chains again.

The drive stalled, though, after Woodford was stuffed twice and Glover failed to move the chains through the air and a fourth down effort came up short.

A break came the Raiders’ way soon after, however, when the Irish fumbled the ball on the ensuing possession in their own territory. Isaiah Stubbs scooped up the loose ball and took it back to the house to get Northeast on the board.

Even then, the half wasn’t finished. With just 42 seconds left before the break, Batts ripped off a huge 54-yard rush and got the Irish close enough for a field goal to make it 17-7 going to the locker room.

That score remained throughout the second half, of course, but it did not tell the whole story.

The opening drive of the second half by Dublin ate up plenty of clock with rushing attempts but ended with a pass play — the first of the night for the Irish — on a fake punt that came up just a yard short of the first down, giving Northeast a key stop.

From there, the teams traded lengthy, empty drives until around the six-minute mark in the fourth quarter. With time running out, the Raiders mounted a key drive from their own 14-yardline, using key runs from Woodford and Glover to overcome untimely penalties and get all the way to the Dublin 6-yardline.

The Irish’s standout defensive line came through again, however, stuffing Woodford on multiple runs before bringing enough pressure to make Glover’s fourth-down pass a wobbly one. 

The turnover on downs looked like the decisive point of the contest, but Northeast’s defense kept Dublin pinned deep and, after some penalties for both teams, forced a shanked punt that gave them the ball right back at the Irish 19-yardline with about two minutes left.

The comeback was not to be, though. Another Raiders drive stalled, and Dublin was able to bleed the clock out on its signature win of the year.