NORWICH – While Chenango Forks is still king of the hill in Section IV’s Class B, Norwich is poised to knock the Blue Devils off their long-standing perch.
Norwich will look for its first win over Forks since 1999 this coming Friday after it methodically ground out a 20-7 non-league win over Section III’s Holland Patent Friday on homecoming weekend.
Unlike its first three victories, the Purple Tornado never trailed in the fourth contest building a 20-point lead before giving up a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. It was the first touchdown given up by Norwich in the second half this season, and it certainly did not sully a thoroughly dominating performance.
“We’re pretty pleased with where we are,” said Norwich head coach John Pluta. “This team has a bunch of grinders. They work hard and play hard, and they have fun on Friday nights.”
It wasn’t all fun from the get-go, Holland Patent matched up with Norwich physically, and although the Golden Knights’ offense was going nowhere nearly the entire first half, the defense gave ground grudgingly. Just under two minutes into the second quarter, Norwich found its offensive rhythm, and senior quarterback Tim Clark punched in a one-yard sneak for the opening tally.
Following Andrew Austin’s interception two plays later, Norwich capitalized on the short field moving 25 yards for its second score. Mike Moon barreled over from a yard out, and Moon’s two-point run upped the lead to 14-0.
Holland Patent didn’t earn its initial first down until its last drive of the half, and it took a trick play to do it. Running back Stephen Falk threw a 41-yard halfback option pass to Dan Frusclla that had the Golden Knights in striking range of the Norwich goal. Two more first downs set up a first-and-goal. Norwich stuffed two pass attempts, the latter a two-yard loss on a Falk reception, and Holland Patent’s 28-yard field goal went wide left with under a second left in the half.
Norwich went on its final scoring drive after Jake Fazio recovered a Holland Patent fumble at the 30.
Clark hit Andrew Austin on a big 17-yard pass over the middle, and Law squirted out of a pile at the line of scrimmage to score on a 16-yard scamper with 1:40 left in the third stanza. “They came out in the second half and got after us a little bit,” Pluta said. “We withstood that and came back with a nice touchdown drive.”
Norwich’s defense did yield plenty of passing yards, most of those in the second half when Holland Patent abandoned the running game. Becoming a one-dimensional offense was a necessity for the visitors, who finished with just 38 yards rushing on 22 attempts. Conversely, Norwich rushed for a season-high 290 yards. Law finished with a team-high 89 yards and Moon added 80.
“Holland Patent is a big, physical football team, and make you defend the whole field,” Pluta said. “We really took away their running game, and that was a big key for us.”
On paper, Pluta agreed that he doesn’t have a team laden with star players that opponents must point toward stopping. In the truest essence of the word “team,” he believes he has a squad that is as well-rounded as any in recent seasons. “We can throw the ball when we need to or want to, and our ends are good receivers,” Pluta said. “Our line is playing well, and they were opening some great holes for our backs tonight.”
Holland Patent backup quarterback Alex Smith finished 4-for-6 for 113 yards and a 41-yard TD pass to Matt Clawson. The Golden Knights had 142 of their 208 total yards in the second half, most coming with the game’s outcome no longer in doubt.
BIG HITS AND EXTRA POINTS: Austin had a fumble recovery to go with a diving interception, and he also had perhaps the biggest hit of the game when he laid big-time wood on Holland Patent receiver Clawson after a second-quarter catch inside the Norwich 20....Adding tackles for a loss were Christian Hotaling, Moon, Fazio, and Clark....Norwich’s JV improved to 3-1 beating Holland Patent 14-6. Seth Thomsen ran for one score and threw a TD pass to Josh Whaley with two minutes remaining to seal the win....the Blue Devils suffered their first division loss since the 2001 season Saturday at Oneonta, 18-15. Seven years ago, it was also the Yellowjackets who hung a division defeat on Forks.
Score by quarters
HPat. 0 0 0 7–7
NHS 0 14 6 0–20
Scoring Summary
Second quarter
N: Tim Clark 1 run (kick failed), 10:11
N: Mike Moon 1 run (Moon run), 2:53
Third quarter
N: Paddy Law 16 run (pass failed), 1:42
Fourth quarter
HP: Alex Smith 41 pass to Matt Clawson (Adam Santamour kick)
Team Summary
N HP
First downs 19 9
Rushes-yds 54-290 22-38
Passing yds 26 170
Comp-att-int 2-2-0 10-16-1
Punts-avg 3-25.7 3-36.3
Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-2
Penalties-yds 3-20 2-10
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (N) Paddy Law, 12-89; Mike Moon, 19-80; Tyler Slater, 9-53; Christian Hotaling, 4-42; Tim Clark, 4-14; Jake Fazio, 2-10; Alex Williams, 1-3; Mike Reilly, 1-3; Wade Burke, 1-2; Casey Edwards, 1- (-6). (HP) Tyler Mann, 4-19, Cody Crego, 5-17, Alex Smith, 1-5; Stephan Falk, 3-5; Dan Fruscella, 9- (minus-8).
Passing: (HP) Alex Smith, 4-6-0, 113 yds, TD; Tyler Mann 5-9-1, 16 yds; Stephen Falk, 1-1-0, 41 yards. (N) Tim Clark, 2-3-0, 26 yds.
Receiving: (HP) Dan Fruscella, 3-60, Matt Clawson, 2-52; S. Falk, 4-33; Eric Stys, 1-25. (N) Andrew Austin, 1-17, Mike Moon, 1-9.