CLAYTON — As expected Northmont rolled to an easy victory over Fairborn in the opening round of the Division II, Region VIII playoffs.

All seven divisions began postseason play Friday, Oct. 27 with all games being played on Friday nights through the state semifinals, unless circumstances require a game to be moved to Saturday.

The Thunderbolts rolled to an easy 35-0 victory over the Skyhawks, substituting heavily throughout the second half.

Brady Lupton returned Fairborn’s first punt more than 80 yards for a touchdown, but an illegal block in the back penalty moved the ball back to Northmont’s 10.

On the first play from scrimmage, Calilien Grant (11 carries, 106 yards) broke off a 58 yard run for a first down at Fairborn’s 32. Two plays later Grant caught a 15 yard pass for a first down at the 15 and on the next play Trey Quincy scored on a 15 yard run. Christian Moncrief’s point after made it 7-0 with 7:10 left in the first quarter.

The Thunderbolts added two more first quarter scores; a 20 yard pass and a 31 yard pass from Deuce Cortner both to Daniel Ivory. Moncrief added two kicks to boost the lead to 21-0.

Cortner completed nine of 13 passes for 171 yards and three TDs. Ivory had five receptions for 113 yards and three TDs.

Ivory caught a 43 yard Cortner touchdown pass with 1:42 left in the first half and Moncrief’s kick put Northmont up 28-0 at halftime.

Lupton returned a Fairborn punt 45 yards for a touchdown with 10:02 remaining in the third stanza to cap the scoring.

Cortner, who also plays defensive back, blocked a 21 yard field goal attempt by Wesley Rohler in the second quarter to preserve the shutout.

Northmont improved to 7-4 while Fairborn ends its season at 4-7.

“We knew they were going to have trouble moving the ball just because I don’t think they saw a defense like ours all year,” said Northmont coach Tony Broering.

The Thunderbolts generated 362 total yards while limiting the Skyhawks to 123 and just eight first downs.

“The league that they are in and the teams that they played, from the films we had they didn’t see any defense like that all season,” Broering noted.

The top four seeds in each region, Northmont, Archbishop Hoban, Walsh Jesuit, Hudson, Riverside, Avon, Anthony Wayne, Medina Highland, Sylvania Southview, Massillon, Canal Winchester, Green, Lake, Anderson, Troy and Withrow all advanced with home wins and will host again in the second round.

The Thunderbolts will host William Henry Harrison this Friday. The Wildcats posted a 51-6 victory over Sidney in their opening round playoff game.

“I haven’t looked at Harrison yet. I just know them by reputation and that they are big and strong. They will probably be bigger than us up front,” Broering said. “Even Fairborn was little bigger than us on the line.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” Broering added. “The style of offense they run is kind of like Fairmont, so we will get limited possessions and we will have to get them off the field. It is going to be tough sledding, but we are going to be home again and we are happy to move on and I am very proud of the boys. They played great.”

This is how the other six Greater Western Ohio Conference playoff qualifiers fared in the Division I brackets. Springfield defeated Wayne 38-14. Centerville defeated Olentangy Orange 23-6. Fairmont lost to Dublin Coffman 14-7. Miamisburg defeated Delaware Hayes 34-14. Springboro lost to St. Xavier 35-13.

Reach Ron Nunnari by email: [email protected].