NCA Jets Dominate Cedarville In State Semifinals

POWERS---The North Central High School football team has not been touched all season long as the program played in "eight-man" football for the first time.

And Friday night, the Jets played in their biggest-ever football game...a state semifinal match-up against the Cedarville Trojans. Certainly, this game would be a battle, as the Trojans have had a successful program for years, and were 2014 state runners-up.

Nope.

The NCA Jets did what they have done all season long, turning in another dominating performance.

The Jets whipped Cedarville, 70-6, to advance to next Friday night's state championship game against Battle Creek St. Phillip in Greenville.

The Jets scored 64 of those points in the first half, including two touchdowns on the final 30 seconds of the second quarter.

The NCA offensive and defensive lines were in control for most of the night, opening huge holes for Jets runners and stopping the Trojans on their first few possessions.

Cedarville didn't get a first down until the second quarter.

Bobby Kleiman showed his speed and athleticism throughout the game, scoring seven touchdowns: five on the ground, and two off passes from quarterback Jason Whitens.

Kleiman scored the team's first two touchdowns, on runs of 24 and 70 yards. Dylan Gagne scored the Jets' third touchdown, before Kleiman scored again...and it was still the first quarter.

NCA also made every two-point conversion, so it was a 32-0 Jets lead.

The domination continued in the second quarter, as Kleiman scored his fourth touchdown and Tyler Bentley ran in the two-point conversion, making it a 40-0 game.

Cedarville (9-3) had some success on the ground during a drive in the second quarter, with sophomore quarterback Trey Norris scored a touchdown from 23 yards out.

But the Jets were simply unstoppable on offense. A long Whitens pass to Dawson Bilski set North Central up inside the one yard-line, and Kleiman scored on the next play to make it 56-6. Then, after a Cedarville fumble, Bentley scored on a 33 yard touchdown run with seven seconds left in the half. It was a 64-6 lead at halftime.

The second half was played on a running clock...as has been the case in every NCA game this season. The only score of the second half was on a Marcus Krachinski touchdown.

While Cedarville finishes a successful season with a 9-3 record, the Jets improved to 12-0 and will head to Legacy Field in downstate Greenville for the state championship game.

The Jets' opponent will be Battle Creek St. Phillip, which is also undefeated after a 52-24 win over Deckerville in a semifinal game Saturday afternoon in Battle Creek.

The state championship game is scheduled for next Friday night at 7:00 ET/6:00 CT. North Central will be playing for its first-ever state championship in football.

It will be broadcast live over the Internet at www.mhsaa.tv.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos from Friday night's semifinal game.