IRVINE — He spends the week alone at practice. The kicker. But Dillan Low of Northwood won’t be so lonely this week.
Not after kicking three field goals and providing the difference in the Timberwolves’ 22-14 victory over rival Portola on Friday night.
Low kicked field goals of 42, 36 and 31 yards to lift Northwood (3-2) to its second consecutive nonleague victory going into its bye week.
Portola dropped to 2-3.Dil
“Kicking game was huge for us,” Northwood coach Erik Terry said. “Dillan was dynamite. Those two he kicked in the first half were big. We knew we were going to give him a shot within 40, but when he hit the one from 42, we knew we were going to give him a shot all night.”
The kicks of 42 and 36 yards – the latter with 58 seconds on the clock – helped Northwood to a 13-7 lead at halftime.
“Nights like this make me realize why I’m here,” said Low, whose previous long this season was 28 yards. “I don’t think I’d be able to do this without holder Caden Jacobs and snapper Noah Green.”
Northwood’s lead disappeared quickly in the third quarter. Portola’s Michael Hood returned the opening kickoff 92 yards to give the Bulldogs a 14-13 advantage.
But Low put Northwood back on top with his 31-yard field goal with 52 seconds left in the third quarter.
It stayed that way through most of the fourth quarter. Isaac Kwon’s 32-yard interception return set up Northwood at the 4-yard line, and Xayn Ali scored from the 1 with 5:35 remaining. The two-point conversion failed, but the defense shut down Portola on the ensuing drive to secure the victory.
“I think we finally played three-phase football for the first time this season,” Terry said. “Defense gave us a chance with that late interception to put it away. Special teams took care of business on the field goals. We did give up a kickoff return for a touchdown but we didn’t get down. We bounced back. We trusted our offense. We’ve got some big play-makers, we’ve just got to get the ball in their hands and let them do it.”
Kwon had five receptions for 72 yards with a TD and interception, and Bert Chubb had four catches for 53 yards. L.J. Ulmer carried 20 times for 77 yards for Northwood. Sophomore Dylan D’Epifanio completed 13 of 29 passes for 174 yards, a TD, and two interceptions.
Portola was without one of its primary offensive weapons. Lead running back Timothy Grettenberg was kept out of the game after a knee injury last week. Mayan Kim carried 14 times for 50 yards in a starting role.
Portola scored first, on its first drive, as Malachi Moore grabbed a 19-yard pass from Orion Suttle on the sidelines. That score, at 8:01 of the first quarter, was triggered by Blaise Williams’ interception at the Northwood 48 that he returned to the 36.
Northwood answered on the first play of the second quarter. Capping a seven-play, 54-yard drive, D’Epifanio connected with Kwon for a 38-yard score and a 7-7 tie.
Then it became the Dillan Low show.