New Life Academy football: Eagles win big in opener

Led by senior running back Matt Michaud and his three rushing touchdowns, the New Life Academy football team won big on Friday night against Breck.

Under a full blue moon Friday night, the New Life Academy Eagles hit the ground running against Tri-Metro Conference rival Breck, winning 41-14.

Six different running backs carried the ball for more than 400 yards of offense. Michaud, a senior co-captain, led the assault with 16 carries for 184 yards and three touchdowns.

Running behind an experienced offensive line, Michaud and fellow senior co-captain Cameron Mehls were able to run rampant against a young Breck defense.

“You have to take whatever the defense gives you,” Head Coach Paul Mork said. “Everything we tried seemed to work pretty well.”

Breck scored the first touchdown of the game, but the Eagles answered right back as Luke Mikhail caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Mark deLeon, both of whom are senior co-captains.

Michaud scored his first touchdown of the night shortly after to put the Eagles up 14-7. Breck would answer back to tie the score at 14-14, but the Eagles ended any thoughts of a back and forth scoring affair to score two more touchdowns in the second quarter.

Mork said those two touchdowns were the turning point of the game. The first was a 17-yard run by Michaud for his second of the night. On the ensuing kickoff, the Eagles were able to recover the football on the 25-yardline, and New Life Academy was able to punch it in as Mehls scored on a 5-yard run.

The Eagles picked up right where they ended the second quarter, scoring twice more; one more touchdown run came from Michaud and another from Junior fullback Jake Brand, who also had an excellent game leading the way on many of the big running plays for the other running backs.

NLA’s defensive line stifled any passing attempts made by the Mustangs, and Mehls was able to shut down the Breck wide receivers in the secondary. Mehls also played well on special teams returning kicks.

The home opener was also Parents Night for the Eagles, and every player suited up for the game saw action on the field. All of the parents were acknowledged during halftime.

It was, however, not all positives for the Eagles, as Junior running back Matt Etzweiler broke his forearm in the second half. The injury by the running back, wearing jersey No. 5, came one year after former senior running back Jordan Nieuwsma injured his ankle in the 2011 opening football against Breck. Nieuwsma also wore No. 5.

Next up for the Eagles is at St. Paul Academy/Mounds Park Academy on Friday, Sept. 7th at 4:30pm.

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