MUSKEGON – Jair Nowlin doesn’t care for it very much when opponents run their mouths before games.
He’s not the type to talk back himself, so he gets even in his own way, once the game begins.
Nowlin, a rookie defensive back for the West Michigan Ironmen, had a total of three interceptions on Saturday night, including two pick-six touchdowns, helping the Ironmen post a dominant 59-7 victory over the Cedar Rapids Titans in front of a big crowd at Muskegon’s Trinity Health Arena.
The game was billed as a showdown between the two best teams in the American Indoor Football league, and the Titans definitely showed up with an attitude, engaging in nose-to-nose smack talk with the Ironmen at midfield before the game.
Nowlin caught what the Titans were saying, and said it inspired him to have his really big game.
“Honestly, it was just the environment, it was kind of hostile,” he said after the game. “They came up the tunnel, like, you know, talking smack. That just lit a fire.”
[1]Nowlin’s first interception came about midway through the first quarter, when the Cedar Rapids quarterback had to chase down a wild snap from center and was cornered by Ironmen defenders in his own end zone.
The QB got rid of the ball just before he was tackled, it landed in Nowlin’s hands at the one-yard line, and he stopped into the end zone for the touchdown, which was his first at any level of his career – high school, college or with the Ironmen.
“I saw the QB scramble, about to throw the ball, and I just thought, run, get there as fast as I can and catch it,” Nowlin said. “It was actually the first touchdown of my career. I came close before, but not even in high school.”
Nowlin’s second pick came in the second quarter, when he intercepted a pass and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown.
He capped off his evening in the fourth quarter, when he basically took the ball away from a Cedar Rapids receiver who was about to haul in a touchdown catch in the end zone.
All in all, it was a great night for the young rookie, who is still a student at Calvin University, and was proud to play in front of his mother, who made the trip all the way from Georgia.
[2]“She came all the way up here to support me, and I really love it,” Nowlin said.
Ironmen head coach Terry Mitchell said his entire team became extra motivated when the Titans started running their mouths before the game, and it inspired them to post a big win in their biggest game of the season so far.
“They came in late, then some of their guys were trying to kick us off the field during warmups, when it was our time,” said Coach Mitchell, whose team is now 4-0 on the season. “They didn’t want to follow the schedule. They came in here trying to be bullies. Man, you can’t bully us. You come into our house and disrespect us, we’re just gonna let our play do the talking.”
It was the Ironmen defense thaty set the tone for the drubbing in the first half.
Cedar Rapids’ first five possessions ended in a turnover on downs, a pick-six interception, another turnover on downs, another pick six, and another turnover on downs.
The defense did a good job of covering for the Ironmen offense, which rstruggled in the first half. Veteran quarterback Alex Carder had a tough time through the air, throwing three incomplete passes and two interceptions in the first first two quarters.
[3]Carder did have a touchdown run, Dav’Veon Taylor also scored on the ground and Nowlin’s two interception scores gave West Michigan a 27-0 halftime lead.
The Ironmen offense recovered very quickly in the second half, with Carder becoming a lot more accurate with his throws.
He hit Tyler Bruce with a 30-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter.
On the next possession, Carder connected with Taylor on a five-yard TD pass. On the first play of the fourth quarter, he completed a six-yard scoring strike to Edward Thomas.
Carder added two more TD passes, to Caleb Foltz, and then LeRoy McKay on the last play of the game.
[4]The West Michigan defense maintained its domination the entire game, stopping the Titans on downs on their first possession of the second half, then posting a really impressive stop on Cedar Rapids’ next possession.
The Titans completed a long pass to the Ironmen 2-yard line, but were pushed back to the 10 on a sack, then were completely denied on an interception by West Michigan’s Logan Helton.
The shutout stood until the Titans’ final possession of the game, when they scored on a short touchdown pass with less than a minute left on the clock.
Carder ended up completing 16 passes for 188 yards. Tyler Bruce hauled in five catches for 84 yards and Josh Fusco led in tackles with seven.
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
WM – 9:55 – DavVeon Taylor 8 run (kick good) – 7-0 WM
WM – 6:00 – Jair Nowlin 1 interception return (kick good) – 14-0 WM
SECOND QUARTER
WM – 12:40 – Nowlin 17 interception return (kick good) – 21-0 WM
WM – :48 – Alex Carder 4 run (kick failed) – 27-0 WM
THIRD QUARTER
WM – 14:30 – Carder 30 pass to Tyler Bruce (kick failed) – 33-0 WM
WM – 8:25 – Carder 5 pass to Taylor (kick failed_- 39-0 WM
FOURTH QUARTER
WM – 14:52 – Carder 6 pass to Edward Thomas (kick good) – 46-0 WM
WM – 6:10 – Carder 3 pass to Caleb Foltz (kick good) – 53-0 WM
CR – :26 – Skyy Grice 5 pass to Dixon Labryton – 53-7 WM
WM – :00 – Carder 5 pass to LeRoy McKay – 59-7 WM