Ottawa Hills football dominates in 37-6 TAAC win at Northwood

A little wind and rain never bothered Chase Miller.

In less-than-desirable conditions Friday night, the Ottawa Hills quarterback completed 16 of 23 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-6 drubbing at Northwood.

And he even intercepted a pass.

Miller’s favorite target was Jackson Snyder, who caught five passes for 88 yards and three touchdowns, including a 40-yarder and a 35-yarder.

“You could tell some of the [footballs] were definitely trickling through the wind a little different,” Snyder said. “But Chase did a great job. He got the ball where I needed it to be.”

Ottawa Hills led 21-6 at halftime and started the third quarter with a bang, intercepting Northwood QB Tyler Osley on the third play, scoring a touchdown four plays later, intercepting the Rangers on the first play of the ensuing drive, and scoring a touchdown on a 35-yard pass on the next play.

Miller and Snyder featured prominently in the game-changing sequence. Miller had the first interception and threw the touchdown pass, and Snyder had the second interception and the touchdown reception.

“Jackson’s been our big-play guy all year,” Ottawa Hills coach Brandon Carter said. “When we find a matchup we like, we make sure that we get on the ball. And he's a big, tall, athletic kid. If we put it in the right spot anywhere close to him, he’ll come down with the ball.”

The offense may have produced explosive plays, but it was the Green Bear defense that continually flexed its muscles. Northwood only had four first downs — zero in the second half — and one came via a fake punt. Ten plays result in negative yardage, including a safety.

“We couldn’t get anybody loose,” Northwood coach Ken James said. “They did a good job of jumping our routes, too. One pick they had, we thought we had a guy open and the guy underneath came and made a nice play. We didn’t execute well on offense, which I think hurt us momentum-wise defensively. It’s a total game.”

The Pillarelli brothers combined for 197 yards of offense. Rocco had 108 rushing yards and 12 receiving yards. Reddik finished with 27 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards.

The game was played in winds that were consistently gusting above 20 miles per hour, creating a running-friendly environment.

“We had to take our shots when we could,” Carter said. “Obviously, if we’re going against the wind, we weren’t going to be throwing the ball and putting it in the air a lot. But when we had the wind, we tried to make sure that we took our shots, and that’s what we did tonight.”