Most football games I cover fall into the forgettable category. It’s not out of disinterest in the teams, but due to the lack of excitement and the inequity of the two clubs. The competitive balance will swing heavily in one team’s favor, and there is typically no drama or suspense in the fourth quarter. Friday night’s season-opener at Norwich was not one of the games, and will likely end up as one of the more unforgettable contests. I get perhaps one or two of these games a year, and I can only hope I did not use up my quota.
Norwich was entertaining an Owego team that had three straight postseason appearances. It was a worthy adversary for the Tornado’s opening game, and the home club never led in the game until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. As local fans now know, Norwich eked out a thrilling 18-14 comeback victory.
Let’s be real here: Norwich’s ball-control, running offense is not geared toward come-from-behind wins. It’s predicated on chewing up the clock with physical running and blocking. There is the occasional pass play that catches the opposition unaware, and it was the well-timed pass play called by Norwich coach John Pluta that ultimately made the difference.
Usually, one enters a game knowing which team is the favorite. Friday, I had no such notions, and only gave the Purple Tornado a slight edge based on home-field advantage. In the course of any game, it is usually easy to determine which team appears the more powerful. Through two quarters, I saw no discernible differences.
Owego had a better passing game, Norwich – as expected – the better running game. Neither club asserted those strengths in any sort of dominant fashion. The spread on the scoreboard was a direct result of a costly special teams error by NHS, and that gave Owego the eight-point advantage.
It was back to basics on offense that swung the momentum, Pluta later said. “We tried running our offense out of different formations, and we had some timing issues,” he said. “That was my fault.”
Norwich reverted to more traditional formations, ones that yielded six playoff appearances over the last nine years.
Still, Owego didn’t make it easy for Norwich. The longest Tornado run in the third quarter was 13 yards by Tyler Slater. Of the 13 other rushing plays in 12-minute period, one was for six yards by Paddy Law, and the rest were mainly in the three- to five-yard range. Typical Norwich move-the-chains, ball-control football.
Starting at its own 13 with 3:14 left in the third quarter, the Tornado used nine plays to cover the 87-yard distance. That drive was nearly derailed, though, before it started. On a fourth-and-two from its own 21, Pluta spurned Coaching 101 strategy with that inauspicious field position, and went for the first down. At his best, Pluta calls plays with the utmost confidence in his players, and the Tornado gridders did not betray their mentor’s confidence. Asked about the gutsy call, Pluta later said he had a gut instinct that this was the key moment of the game. If Norwich failed to score, he felt Owego would ultimately take command of the game.
That didn’t happen. Tyler Slater ripped off a big run into Owego territory, and Norwich used the deep pass to draw closer. Tim Clark hit Andrew Austin in the back of the endzone with Austin leaping high and just raking in the ball for six points.
To that point, Clark was harried and harassed completing just one pass, misfiring three other times, and getting sacked by the Owego rush on another play-action, roll-out.
What changed? Norwich’s running game set up the pass. Like most clubs, the passing game always looks better when the defense has to respect the run. Other than Slater’s 57-yard TD run in the first half, Norwich had yet to display its protypical offense until Pluta went back to basics.
The running game also improved. Owego now had to honor the threat of a Tornado passing game. In the midst of another Tornado scoring drive, again set up by effective rushing, Owego’s defense stunningly had a momentary lapse. Forcing a fourth-and-goal from the 11-yard line – always a passing situation – Pluta called an old favorite, the tight end pop pass over the middle. Clark spun and fired to his ample target, 6-foot-5 David Carson. Carson just needed to fall forward two yards after receiving the pass to score six points.
Norwich gave up some yards on the final drive to Owego before closing out the win with a sack. The entire Tornado roster rushed onto the field at the final horn as if it won a critical playoff game. While the playoffs are still months away, Norwich showed gritty resiliency, and a passing game that other teams must not forget.