McALISTERVILLE -- Northeastern coach Brendan Brown didn't flinch when quarterback/punter Josh Writer called his own number for a fake punt on fourth and six from the Bobcats own 41-yard line midway through the second quarter against East Juniata.

Brown said he has enough confidence in his sophomore signal caller that he gives Writer the leeway to audible for a fake if he spots a hole in the defense. But even more importantly, Brown said he knew his defense would be able to hold the Tigers.

Luckily for Writer, he picked up the first down to prolong the drive. But the fake also helped Northeastern gain some momentum after an opening quarter riddled with turnovers and sloppy play.

Able to finally find a rhythm, Writer called his number six plays after the fake and scampered 11 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. That was all the Northeastern defense would need as the Bobcats blanked East Juniata, 14-0, on opening night for both clubs.

"I have so much confidence in our defense that I was OK with [the fake] because I knew if they did get the ball, our defense would rise to the occasion," Brown said.

Northeastern's defense rose to the occasion the few times the Tiger offense threatened. East Juniata managed to get past midfield only three times -- and each time the Bobcats came up with a turnover, two fumbles and one on downs.

The Tigers were only able to muster 114 yards against a Northeastern defense that swarmed East Juniata ball carriers at the line of scrimmage

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and held Tiger quarterback Kyle Pannebaker to a mere 4-for-15 passing.

While East Juniata struggled to find anything positive either through the air or on the ground, Northeastern showed some offensive variety. The Bobcats gained 194 yards on the ground and Writer added a 49-yard touchdown pass to Dom Kinsler in the third quarter.

Kinsler's touchdown grab, which included a 30-yard, cross-field run and three broken tackles, gave the Bobcat defense a cushion it didn't need, and all but erased any hope of an East Juniata comeback.

"That was just a good throw and a great catch and great run by Dom," Writer said. "He broke a couple tackles and was gone."

But Writer said he and his teammates need to stay humble after their second opening win in as many varsity seasons. Both Writer and Brown agreed the honeymoon of Northeastern's inaugural season is over and the Bobcats are anxious to make a statement in the YAIAA.

"It's nice to be in that second year, but we watch the preseason previews, we're still picked to be sixth in the conference," Brown said. "So we're going to have a chip on our shoulder every week because obviously the rest of the conference doesn't think we're going to be any good. So that's a little for us to draw on every week."

 

Northeastern  0    7    7    0 -- 14
E. Juniata  0    0    0    0 -- 00

Second Quarter
   NE -- Josh Writer 11 run (Cory Bair kick), 2:40.
Third Quarter
   NE -- Dom Kinsler 49 pass from Writer (Bair kick), 5:15.
 
-- NE -- EJ
First downs -- 10 -- 6
Rushes-yards -- 34-194 -- 27-87
Passing -- 4-7-1 -- 4-16-1
Passing yards -- 60 -- 27
Total yards -- 254 -- 114
Punts -- 3-35.7 -- 5-30.4
Fumbles-lost -- 5-3 -- 2-2
Penalties-yards -- 10-75 -- 4-20

 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
   Rushing -- Northeastern, Aaron Greene 19-97, Writer 6-50, Jimmy Wilt 4-26, Justin Michalak 3-8, Nick Small 2-13; East Juniata, Wade Truitt 9-41, Nick Kratzer 7-23, Jake Wenrich 6-24, Kyle Pannebaker 3-(-6), Aaron Shrawder 2-5.
   Passing -- Northeastern, Writer 2-4-46-0, Small 2-3-14-1; East Juniata, Pannebaker 4-15-27-0, Sam Wray 0-1-0-1.
   Receiving -- Northeastern, Kinsler 1-49, Eric Steadman 1-13, Michalak 1-1, Shawn Hansel 1-(-3); East Juniata, Wray 2-14, Dexter Herman 2-13.