Northmont improves to 4-0 while handing Fairmont first loss

Cahke’ Cortner runs for two touchdowns in first half

CLAYTON — Northmont coach Tony Broering wanted a score Friday from his defense, which had been perfect the last two weeks in preventing the opposing offense from scoring. He kept harping on it all week in practice.

When Nigel Glover returned a fumble 48 yards in the second quarter against Fairmont, Glover remembered his coach’s request when he returned to the sideline.”

“I did it, Coach,” Glover told him. “I did it.”

Glover, a senior defensive back, scooped a fumble forced by sophomore defensive back Braylen Russell and scored the first touchdown of his career. It was one of four scores by Northmont in the first half in a 28-0 victory in Week 4 at Premier Health Stadium.

“I saw the end zone,” Glover said. “I picked it up. I went back to my baseball days. I thought it was a groundball. That was fun. Last week, I dropped a pick six, and I wasn’t going to forget about that.”

Northmont improved to 4-0 while handing Fairmont (3-1) its first loss on the opening night of Greater Western Ohio Conference play. The Thunderbolts will play another unbeaten team in Week 5: Centerville (4-0), which won 17-0 at Miamisburg (2-2) on Friday.

“The GWOC is like the SEC West,” Northmont coach Tony Broering said. “You win a big game like this and you say, ‘All right, let’s have fun and celebrate,’ and then you look at it and say, ‘Oh my gosh, we’ve got Centerville next Friday night.’ You don’t even have a minute to try to catch your breath and enjoy it.”

Few teams have enjoyed the first four weeks as much as Northmont, which has outscored Butler, Richmond (Ind.), Hilliard Davidson and Fairmont 164-13. It has not allowed a point in 15 of the 16 quarters it has played. This was its third straight shutout.

Fairmont drove into the red zone late in the third quarter only to lose a fumble, which Northmont senior defensive back Christian Pendleton recovered.

“The D line has played outstanding,” Broering said. “The linebackers have played really, really well. Brian Jones is the leader of the team at linebacker. And, of course Nigel, on the back end, has played great.”

Northmont already has as many shutouts this season as it had in the previous six seasons combined. This was its fourth victory in the last five seasons against Fairmont, which beat the Thunderbolts 24-21 last season.

Northmont scored all of its points in the first half. It scored touchdowns on its first three offensive possessions.

Noah McClure got Northmont on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run, his fifth of the season, with 6:54 left in the first quarter. Quarterback Cahke’ Cortner scored on a 5-yard run with 1:08 left in the first quarter.

After Glover’s touchdown gave Northmont a 21-0 lead with 11:04 left in the second quarter, Cortner hurdled a defender along the sideline on his way to an 8-yard touchdown run with 4:41 left in the first half.

“He jumped from the 6 to the end zone,” Glover said. “He’s Michael Jordan.”

Cortner has six touchdown passes and four touchdown runs in four games.

“(Cortner) worked really hard this summer to be able to do stuff like that,” Broering said.

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