2002 In Review

Week 12

Northern Drops Heart-Breaker to Boone

Polar Bears Bow Out in the 2^nd Round 17-14

Northern’s Seniors Finish as the Winningest Class in School History

Boone Set to Meet Gettysburg in Round 3

November 16, 2007

Northern 14 – Daniel Boone 17

On August 31, 2007, the Polar Bears took the field at Bermudian High School for the regular season opener against their backyard rival. Northern walked off with a 38-14 victory. Critics said they were supposed to win. They described the team as a nice bunch but certainly not as good as previous years. The following week, they hosted Quad A Central York. The Polar Bears beat the eventual playoff Panthers 28-3 by shutting down every aspect of their game. The critics again chirped, “Must have been an off night for Central.” The next week it was Mechanicsburg and again, Northern walked off with a 28-21 win. “Well, maybe they are a little better than we gave them credit for, but they’re still not as good as previous years,” the critics again said. The league opener was next against an undefeated Greencastle-Antrim team who had the number 1 rushing offense and the number 1 defense in the mid-state. “Now we’ll see how good they are,” said the doubters. Northern humbled the Blue Devils 38-7. Following the Greencastle win came wins against West Perry, Milton, Big Spring, and Susquenita. At that point the rumblings began about the strength of schedule. The boys didn’t listen as the regular season closed out with two incredibly exciting wins against East Penn and Shippensburg. And, the critics were silenced.

The Northern Polar Bears racked up 28 regular season wins in a row and headed into the playoffs the number one seed in Triple A, District 3. Last week they dismantled the Hamburg Hawks 35-0 in round one of the playoffs. This week it was Daniel Boone. Boone had traveled to Greencastle for their first playoff game and defeated the Blue Devils 17-10 in overtime. They are a solid, well balanced team who run and throw with equal efficiency and play an aggressive, attack style defense. This was going to be a good game and it certainly turned out to be all of that.

Offensively, Northern was frustrated by Boone’s defense early on. Jordan, Mokes, and company had difficulty putting anything together. The same can be said for Daniel Boone who also struggled to move the ball against an excellent bears Defense. Eventually Boone would score to take a 7-0 lead. Northern came right back with a terrific drive capped by a 4^th down Jordan Rutherford sneak to tie the game at 7. The two defenses dominated again but late in the half, a faulty snap on a punt gave the Blazers a 1^st and goal. Northern’s defense responded. Led by #55 Jake Scott and #78 Tim McAleer, the Polar Bears stuffed Boone again and again. They forced a field goal attempt that was blocked and both teams headed into the locker room tied at 7. Boone got a huge return on the opening kickoff of the 2^nd half but the Northern D stiffened again holding them to just a field goal. Down 10-7, Northern began the 4^th quarter generating some momentum. That momentum proved true as Michael Davies launched himself over the goal line giving the Bears a 14-10 lead. The teams again traded possessions but turnovers would prove fatal for the Colonial Division Champions. With 8:44 to play, Boone capitalized on a Bear turnover and took a final lead 17-14. The Polar Bears had many chances on the night and a play here or there could have led to a different outcome but with 6:44 to play, Northern punted and Daniel Boone worked the clock brilliantly holding the ball until there were just 20 seconds left. Sadly for Northern players and fans, there was no miracle to be had like the earlier one against East Penn. The game and season was over.

After Coach Mauck addressed the team, the Seniors moved to the east goal line and hand in hand, they walked the field for the last time. While underclassmen lined the exit to the stadium, the Class of 2008 walked past cheering and applauding Band Members, Cheerleaders, Family, Friends, and Teammates. They departed Bostic for the last time as Polar Bear Football Players. Moments later, 5 Seniors re-appeared on the 50 yard line. #44 Michael Davies, #55 Jake Scott, #3 Jordan Rutherford, #74 Scott Perva, and my son, #78 Tim McAleer. They stood there talking and hugging and looked at the field and the empty stadium. After a time, I walked up to Tim and asked him if he was ready to go. He looked at me and smiled. Through red eyes he said, “Not just yet. I want just a couple more minutes under the Friday Night Lights.” As we left the locker room some time later, he turned to me and said, “Dad, this was the greatest time of my life. I love this team.”