Greene stands tall on defense
By Patrick Newell
Sun Sports Editor
NORWICH – Greene learned a lot about its defense in the fourth quarter Saturday night at Norwich.
The Trojans survived two Norwich scoring drives deep inside its territory in the last stanza, the latter a fourth-and-goal from the one, to prevail over the Tornado, 16-15, in the two schools’ first-ever meeting.
Not only did Greene need to ward off the scoring drives, but it had to survive a 45-yard field goal attempt on a free kick by Norwich with mere seconds on the clock. That, boot, too fell short of the mark.
“We wanted to use this as a stepping stone, and it was a chance to grade ourselves at this point of the season,” said Greene senior running back Jake Wentlent.
Wentlent set up Greene’s winning score in the third quarter returning a kickoff 68 yards to the Norwich 18. On the next play, Nate Whittaker found Justin Van Wert on an 18-yard scoring toss to the right corner of the end zone, the duo’s second scoring hookup of the game. Whittaker then found a slanting Van Wert for the two-point conversion and one-point advantage.
“They made big plays when they needed to make them,” said Norwich coach John Pluta, whose club pushed around its Chenango County opponent most of the second half, but two turnovers conspired against the hosts. “We turned the ball over four or five times, and you can’t do that against a good team.”
The Trojans were coming off a disappointing loss to Unatego the week before, and surely needed the confidence boost as it heads back into division play. The focus now turns to a tough Division V slate, said Trojans coach Tim Paske. “This is a momentum builder and we wanted to get back on track and make a run at the playoffs,” Paske said, who wouldn’t mind seeing some less stiff competition. “Our first three games – Sidney, Unatego, and Norwich – that’s a heck of a way to start the season.”
And the Trojans have come out of the gauntlet 2-1 and poised to repeat its playoff appearance of a year ago. Norwich, though, appeared headed for a third straight victory, and it grabbed the lead for the first time on its second possession of the third quarter. Following a short Greene punt, Norwich moved 39 yards on five plays, and finished the drive on Nate Foote’s nine-yard scoring toss to sophomore Andrew Austin. Jesse Prosser’s point-after kick had Norwich on top.
That lead lasted all of 17 seconds following Wentlent’s kick return and the subsequent TD pass. “Greene has been a team on the rise, and they were able to make big plays on offense, defense, and special teams,” Pluta said. “When it comes down making plays, they were able to do that and it’s a tribute to their players and coaching staff.”
Greene is the third team from Class C’s Division V to defeat Norwich over the past two seasons, although each contest could have gone either way until the final moments. Unatego and Sidney had close wins over Norwich in 2006, and Greene just followed suit. “I think this says a lot about the competition in Section IV,” Paske said after his team’s win. “With the B’s, the C’s, and the D’s, on a given day, a good team can compete in any of those classes. I wouldn’t want to do that every game, though.”
Greene capitalized on Norwich’s first-drive turnover mixing the pass and run to open an 8-0 lead. Whittaker’s 36-yard scoring toss to Van Wert and Wentlent’s PAT run had the visitors on top by eight.
Norwich, able to move the ball consistently all game, finally found paydirt on its third drive. Moon and Prosser dashed for long first-down runs, and Moon’s five-yard scoring plunge combined with a two-point toss from Foote to Austin tied the game.
Moon had a workmanlike day running between the tackles finishing with a career-high 110 yards on 23 carries. Norwich finished with 238 yards rushing on the game, nearly 90 yards below its first two games’ average.
Whittaker threw for 75 yards and two scores and Van Wert had three catches for 54 yards.
Score by quarters
Greene 8 0 8 0–16
Norwich 0 8 7 0–15
Scoring Summary
First quarter
G: Van Wert 36 pass from Whittaker (Wentlent run), 6:00
Second Quarter
N: Moon 5 run (Austin pass from Foote), 9:37
Third quarter
N: Austin 9 pass from Foote (Prosser kick), 6:13
G: Van Wert 18 pass from Whittaker (Van Wert pass from Whittaker), 5:56.
Team Summary
G N
First downs 9 15
Rushes-yds 30-128 51-238
Passing yds 75 9
Comp-att-int 5-13-1 1-3-1
Punts-avg 4-23.8 3-37
Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-3
Penalties-yds 4-22 5-21 1/2
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (N) Moon, 23-110, Mattingly, 17-63, Prosser, 4-38, Foote, 7-27. (G) Carlin, 6-51, Wentlent, 8-49, Whittaker, 11-14, Engler, 3-8, Hickey, 2-4.
Passing: (N) Foote, 1-3-1, 9 yds, TD; (G) Whittaker, 5-13-1, 75 yds, 2 TDs.
Receiving: (N) Austin, 1-9; (G) Van Wert, 3-54, Carlin, 2-21.
Sun Sports Editor
NORWICH – Greene learned a lot about its defense in the fourth quarter Saturday night at Norwich.
The Trojans survived two Norwich scoring drives deep inside its territory in the last stanza, the latter a fourth-and-goal from the one, to prevail over the Tornado, 16-15, in the two schools’ first-ever meeting.
Not only did Greene need to ward off the scoring drives, but it had to survive a 45-yard field goal attempt on a free kick by Norwich with mere seconds on the clock. That, boot, too fell short of the mark.
“We wanted to use this as a stepping stone, and it was a chance to grade ourselves at this point of the season,” said Greene senior running back Jake Wentlent.
Wentlent set up Greene’s winning score in the third quarter returning a kickoff 68 yards to the Norwich 18. On the next play, Nate Whittaker found Justin Van Wert on an 18-yard scoring toss to the right corner of the end zone, the duo’s second scoring hookup of the game. Whittaker then found a slanting Van Wert for the two-point conversion and one-point advantage.
“They made big plays when they needed to make them,” said Norwich coach John Pluta, whose club pushed around its Chenango County opponent most of the second half, but two turnovers conspired against the hosts. “We turned the ball over four or five times, and you can’t do that against a good team.”
The Trojans were coming off a disappointing loss to Unatego the week before, and surely needed the confidence boost as it heads back into division play. The focus now turns to a tough Division V slate, said Trojans coach Tim Paske. “This is a momentum builder and we wanted to get back on track and make a run at the playoffs,” Paske said, who wouldn’t mind seeing some less stiff competition. “Our first three games – Sidney, Unatego, and Norwich – that’s a heck of a way to start the season.”
And the Trojans have come out of the gauntlet 2-1 and poised to repeat its playoff appearance of a year ago. Norwich, though, appeared headed for a third straight victory, and it grabbed the lead for the first time on its second possession of the third quarter. Following a short Greene punt, Norwich moved 39 yards on five plays, and finished the drive on Nate Foote’s nine-yard scoring toss to sophomore Andrew Austin. Jesse Prosser’s point-after kick had Norwich on top.
That lead lasted all of 17 seconds following Wentlent’s kick return and the subsequent TD pass. “Greene has been a team on the rise, and they were able to make big plays on offense, defense, and special teams,” Pluta said. “When it comes down making plays, they were able to do that and it’s a tribute to their players and coaching staff.”
Greene is the third team from Class C’s Division V to defeat Norwich over the past two seasons, although each contest could have gone either way until the final moments. Unatego and Sidney had close wins over Norwich in 2006, and Greene just followed suit. “I think this says a lot about the competition in Section IV,” Paske said after his team’s win. “With the B’s, the C’s, and the D’s, on a given day, a good team can compete in any of those classes. I wouldn’t want to do that every game, though.”
Greene capitalized on Norwich’s first-drive turnover mixing the pass and run to open an 8-0 lead. Whittaker’s 36-yard scoring toss to Van Wert and Wentlent’s PAT run had the visitors on top by eight.
Norwich, able to move the ball consistently all game, finally found paydirt on its third drive. Moon and Prosser dashed for long first-down runs, and Moon’s five-yard scoring plunge combined with a two-point toss from Foote to Austin tied the game.
Moon had a workmanlike day running between the tackles finishing with a career-high 110 yards on 23 carries. Norwich finished with 238 yards rushing on the game, nearly 90 yards below its first two games’ average.
Whittaker threw for 75 yards and two scores and Van Wert had three catches for 54 yards.
Score by quarters
Greene 8 0 8 0–16
Norwich 0 8 7 0–15
Scoring Summary
First quarter
G: Van Wert 36 pass from Whittaker (Wentlent run), 6:00
Second Quarter
N: Moon 5 run (Austin pass from Foote), 9:37
Third quarter
N: Austin 9 pass from Foote (Prosser kick), 6:13
G: Van Wert 18 pass from Whittaker (Van Wert pass from Whittaker), 5:56.
Team Summary
G N
First downs 9 15
Rushes-yds 30-128 51-238
Passing yds 75 9
Comp-att-int 5-13-1 1-3-1
Punts-avg 4-23.8 3-37
Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-3
Penalties-yds 4-22 5-21 1/2
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (N) Moon, 23-110, Mattingly, 17-63, Prosser, 4-38, Foote, 7-27. (G) Carlin, 6-51, Wentlent, 8-49, Whittaker, 11-14, Engler, 3-8, Hickey, 2-4.
Passing: (N) Foote, 1-3-1, 9 yds, TD; (G) Whittaker, 5-13-1, 75 yds, 2 TDs.
Receiving: (N) Austin, 1-9; (G) Van Wert, 3-54, Carlin, 2-21.
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