NORTHWOOD — The Rossford football team used a workhorse performance from Ronnie Hawkins on Friday while making some crucial plays down the stretch in a 21-14 win over Northwood to open the season.

“That’s kind of what we thought, that we’d have to possess the ball,” Rossford head coach Todd Drusback said. “We’ve been accustomed in the past to big plays and scoring pretty fast.

“It’s just the different makeup of our team. We feel our strength is in our guys up front, so we’re going to run the ball and grind it a little more than we’re used to.”

Hawkins toted the ball 27 times for 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns, the first of which came on a six-yard run on the first play of the second quarter. It capped off a 12-play drive that lasted five minutes and 37 seconds.

“He’s worked really hard to get to this point,” Drusback said. “I’m real proud of Ronnie and what he’s done carrying the load for us.”

Northwood answered with 2:38 left in the half when quarterback Tyler Osley kept the ball for an 11-yard burst into the endzone. The Bulldogs remained ahead, however, when the extra point attempt was blocked.

Rossford’s offense proceeded to rack up 61 yards in nine plays over a 2:24 stretch as Hawkins capped the drive with an eight-yard run to paydirt with just under 15 seconds left.

After a muffed hold on the extra point attempt, Chase Maxwell kept the ball and sprinted toward the left corner of the endzone for a two-point conversion that gave Rossford a 15-6 lead at halftime.

“I liked our grit and toughness,” Drusback said. “We thought it would be a back-and-forth kind of game. This is kind of why we tweaked our offense a little bit.

“We thought we had some guys up front that could get some movement. When we needed to make some big runs, they were a big reason (for our success).”

Three of the biggest moments on the drive came on consecutive plays.

First, Zaydin Morrison’s 10-yard run gave the Bulldogs a first down in Northwood territory. Tyler Clark then found Blake Dewey down the middle for a 13-yard completion before Hawkins went right for a 13-yard gain.

In fact, Hawkins had 28 of the drive’s final 35 yards over four plays.

The Bulldogs converted a pair of third-downs on the drive and finished the game 9-of-16 such plays overall.

“We were trying to focus on being mentally tough and not letting things that happen in the game affect us, and I thought we did a good job of that tonight,” Northwood head coach Ken James said.

After a scoreless third quarter, Rossford faced a third and 14 at their own 47 to open the fourth. Clark dropped back, shifted to his right and threw a 20-yard pass to Morrison around Northwood’s 40-yard line.

Morrison snatched the ball in traffic and then sprinted to the end zone for a 21-6 lead as a two-point conversion attempt that would have made it a three-score game failed.

“(Credit for that play goes to) the coaches,” Clark said. “They made it happen. They told me to watch the whip route and then come back to that. They said it was going to be open. I trusted my coaches and that’s what happened.”

Clark finished 8-for-18 through the air for 91 yards while adding 16 yards on the ground. Overall, Rossford ran for 155 yards as a team.

“Defensively, we struggled a little bit on third down,” James said. “They made some plays on third down late in the game. We almost had a pick on the one that the kid turned into a touchdown pass. We had a guy right there and missed the tackle.”

The Rangers weren’t done, however, as Osley led his team on a nine-play touchdown drive on the ensuing possession. Facing a fourth and nine at the 50-yard line, Osley completed a 35-yard pass to Jaylen Archer.

Landan Kidd ran for 12 yards on the next play before punching it in from one-yard out three plays later. He then converted the two-point conversion on a sprint to the right to pull Northwood within seven.

“He’s got a live arm,” James said of Osley. “The game is going to continue to slow down for him as he gets older. He’s got a promising future as long as he stays healthy. He’s got the ability to make plays, and he doesn’t get nervous.

“The older we get, the more we’ll be able to expand the offense with him. He did a really good job, especially with that fourth-down conversion. That’s some pressure.”

Rossford’s Jayden Martens nearly returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, but was tripped up around his own 45. The drive that followed stalled out, though, as an incomplete pass led to a turnover on downs at the 36.

With 3:57 left on the clock and needing a touchdown for the tie, Northwood had a 24-second drive that featured three straight incompletions, the last of which was broken up by Martens at Rossford’s 40.

“Offensively, it took us a while to get rolling and settle into what we’re doing,” James said. “We can’t use it as an excuse, but we probably played seven or eight freshmen tonight. You can’t do that against a good football team. You’re going to struggle.”

After a punt, Rossford got the ball looking to finish off the game. Facing a third and four, Morrison ran for six yards. Moments later, Clark kept it for a 14-yard run to seal the game as the Bulldogs ran out the clock.

“When we had to make big plays, we were able to do it,” Drusback said. “It was really a collective effort from our guys. I liked our grit. A lot of people contributed to the victory.”

Defensively, Jace Odenweller had five tackles for Rossford, which had three tackles for loss as a team. Alex Vargo added an interception.

For Northwood, Osley finished with 15 carries for 61 yards while racking up 82 yards through the air. Kidd totaled 50 yards on five carries, while Archer had 67 yards on a pair of receptions.

“We had a couple chances there late in the game,” James said. “They just made a few more plays than we did.”

Rossford held a large advantage in time of possession, utilizing just over 17 minutes of the clock in the first half and almost 30 minutes in the game overall.

The Bulldogs also had 17 first downs compared to 11 for Northwood

“We played really hard,” James said. “We played smart, didn’t have a whole lot of penalties. We’re young and energetic. I think we have good chemistry.

“It’s a long haul for us. We have 35 freshmen and sophomores and about 15 upperclassmen. We’re going to continue to get better as we go.”