The Jets have won playoff games each of the past three seasons, but those victories came as part of the expanded 16-team playoffs.
This year, after receiving a first-round bye in the 12-team playoff field, the Jets proved they belonged amongst the top squads in school history.
“The thing I’m proud about is that with these guys, there’s no question,” said Northeastern coach Jake Buchholtz. “The second round has always been a challenge for us, even when we had some pretty good teams. With having the bye week (I wasn’t) sure how we were going to respond. ... They came out hungry and ready to go. (Rock Hill) is a good football team over there that has some serious athletes. If you would have told me pregame that this would have been the outcome, I would have said, ‘All right, well, maybe the bye week was okay for us.’ I’m just super proud of them. I’m glad that we got to this point. But like I told them, we’ve already ruined (the basketball season) start, so let’s just go ahead and keep playing a little bit.”
The Jets took an early 8-0 lead on a TD run by Houseman, but wouldn’t score again until a touchdown run by Newman to make it 16-0.
Northeastern would score 23 more points in the final seven minutes of the first half to make it 39-0 and trigger the second half running clock.
The Jets had more than 485 yards of total offense.
Newman had 130 yards, including 95 yards rushing. He ran in two TDs and caught another for the Jets.
Houseman rushed for 188 yards and three TDs on 15 carries and senior Jones added 108 rushing yards on five carries.
Northeastern quarterback Diezel Taylor threw three TD passes, one each to seniors Luke Mefford, Jones and Newman.
The Jets caused six turnovers in the game, including four fumbles and two interceptions, one by senior Rhett Lough and another by sophomore Christopher Mapes.
“We knew it was gonna be slick, so all week in practice, we were really challenging our guys. We told them the first guy there’s got to secure the tackle, but the second guy there, go punch out that ball. We knew that that was an opportunity. Turnovers are massive, and I think it played a big role (in the win).”
The second-seeded Jets (10-1) will host sixth-seeded Anna (9-3) in a Region 24 semifinal game at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14. The Rockets beat third-seeded Mechanicsburg 46-12 in a regional quarterfinal game.
Anna, members of the Midwest Athletic Conference, won the last matchup between the two schools, beating the Jets 17-3 in a 2021 first round playoff game. They’re coached by Urbana grad and former Wittenberg player Nick Marino.
“We know it’s going to be the age old tale of the (Ohio Heritage Conference) can’t beat a MAC team,” Buchholtz said. “The good news is our guys are going to come out and they’re going to prepare. I think we have a little bit of an underdog (mentality) this week, even though we’re the two-seed. I think everyone’s going to look at it and say, well, ‘It’s the MAC, it’s the MAC’ and rightfully so. I think all that credit to them is well-deserved, and they go through the gauntlet during their regular season. I think our guys are challenged too, so we’re just excited to keep on playing. We get another chance to be home next week ... all the chips are on the table now. We’re not holding anything back.”
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