Northville kicker/punter Jake Moody
Northville football coach Matt Ladach has a special weapon in junior kicker Jake Moody.
“Jake is an absolute weapon,” Ladach said after the Mustangs defeated Kensington Lakes foe Brighton, 20-10, on Thursday night. “There’s no secret to the weapon he is.
“Early in the game, into the strong wind, we considered the 51-yard attempt, but we decided to go for it (on downs). He might have hit it, he’s so phenomenal.”
Moody is ranked the No. 11 kicker in the nation by Kornblue. He handles all three phases of the kicking game for Northville. On Thursday, he made two field goals — from 33 yards midway through the second quarter to bring Northville back to within 7-3, and from 38 yards with 1:02 left in the game, cushioning the Mustangs’ lead. He added two extra points for eight of the team’s 20 points.
“He just told me to put it through, to do what I always do, and I’d be fine,” Moody said about his coach’s instructions on the last attempt. “So I went out there and made the kick.
“Things have been going pretty good. I worked really hard in the off-season, and I’m pretty proud of how things have gone this season so far.”
His only blemishes were a missed 45-yarder into the wind at the end of Northville’s first drive, and not reaching the end zone on the final kickoff.
“I was pretty disappointed that last one didn’t make it into the end zone; at least we got the fumble recovery (by Alex Kim) and it secured the victory. So that was good,” he said.
Ladach puts a lot of the game plan on Moody.
“One of our big keys is to protect the football and make sure that every drive ends with a kick, preferably with a field goal or an extra point.”