Norwich shows ‘Purple hearts’ in overtime win
NORWICH – Norwich coach John Martinson told his players he would never forget Friday night’s game. It’s a good bet, his players will not soon forget it either.
Norwich matched Windsor’s overtime touchdown, but converted the game-winning extra-point kick to defeat the Black Knights, 29-28, Friday night at Norwich High School.
Norwich (1-0, 1-3) opened its season with three straight non-league losses, but is now perfect in division play, and one step closer to a postseason berth. “I said in the preseason, I don’t care if we’re 4-4. If you can win all four of your division games, you’re the champions,” Martinson said.
With the game tied at 22 entering overtime – the first NHS overtime contest in recent memory – neither club wasted much time punching the ball in for six points.
The Black Knights (0-4) won the coin flip, and used just five plays to score. Noah Sibley, a 218-pound senior fullback, had an eight-yard first-down run to the NHS eight, and two plays later, quarterback David Goetz scampered around the left end into the left corner of the endzone.
On the pivotal two-point conversion, Ryan Hayes was stopped short of the goal.
Norwich was even more efficient with its overtime possession. Paddy Law dashed 12 yards for a first down, then tacked on five more on the subsequent play. Tyler Hoffman gained one yard, then quarterback Seth Thomsen quick-snapped the ball and barged forward for the two-yard TD sneak.
Josh Favaloro was called upon for the extra point. Martinson considered a two-point attempt, but eventually decided on his junior kicker, who had converted 3-of-4 attempts on the season. Favaloro’s attempt could not have been more true as it split the uprights.
“I couldn’t have been more proud of Josh,” Martinson said.
Law, who led NHS with 61 yards rushing and three catches for 41 yards, said the overtime philosophy was a simple one. “We pretty much wanted to pound it at them,” Law said. “We didn’t think they could stop us, and they didn’t.”
“In the overtime, we just didn’t want to take any big risks,” Martinson said, backing up Law’s statement.
Before Norwich forced overtime, it needed its defensive play of the year to keep the tie score intact. On its only possession of the fourth quarter, Windsor took the ball methodically down the field gaining four first downs along the way.
Sibley and Hayes shared the ball-carrying duties, and Goetz sprinkled in a 13-yard first-down pass to David Whitman to move the chains.
Hayes had a one-yard run to the Norwich 2-yard line with less than 90 seconds left giving the Black Knights a first-and-goal. Norwich had little success slowing the visitors throughout the second half, and it seemed just a matter of time before Windsor would punch in the go-ahead score. At that point, Martinson called a timeout to make a plea to his defense.
“I told the team simply, we had to get the ball,” Martinson said.
Hayes got the call, and he was met at the four-yard line by NHS sophomore lineman Keegan Levesque and defensive back Casey Edwards. The jarring hit stood Hayes up and forced a fumble. The ball squirted forward into the back of the endzone, and Thomsen recovered the ball with 1:19 left.
Norwich did not settle for running out the clock. After Law gained nine yards for a first down, Thomsen picked apart the Windsor defense out of the shotgun formation. He scrambled for 11 yards, then hit Law, Tyler Hoffman, and Mackay Hotaling for a combined 34 yards of passing. Norwich reached as far as the 20, before time ran out.
Norwich, as it did in its first three games, was tied or in the lead at the halftime mark. The Tornado marched for a score on its opening drive of the game. Using 14 plays, Law’s four-yard TD score capped a 67-yard excursion.
Early in the second quarter, a Favaloro 49-yard punt pinned Windsor inside its five-yard line. Norwich forced a punt, and it was blocked by the Tornado’s Edwards in the endzone resulting in a safety.
Norwich’s 8-0 lead was squared up by Windsor with just 18.8 seconds left in the half. Goetz’s scrambled on a bootleg, and he found a wide-open Richie DiVirglio on a four-yard strike. Goetz executed the same play – on the other side no less – for the two-point conversion pass to Kyle Zaverton tying the game.
Windsor capitalized on a Norwich fumble early in the second half to take the lead for the first time. Thomsen mishandled a punt, and Windsor was left with just 14 yards for the go-ahead score. Hayes rushed in from four yards out and a 14-8 advantage.
Thomsen would immediately redeem himself on the ensuing kickoff. He returned the boot 80 yards for the score, Norwich’s first kickoff return TD in several years.
Windsor regained the lead on a nine-play, 65-yard drive late in the third.
Goetz completed two passes for 30 yards, a Norwich personal foul penalty added 10 yards, and Marino Hogan punched in the ball from the one-yard line making it 22-16.
Norwich drove for the tying score mixing the pass and run effectively, while also overcoming 20 yards in penalties. The key play was a 24-yard completion from Thomsen to Law on third-and-19 in which Law won a jump ball between two Windsor defenders. Situated at the Windsor five, Alex Williams’ five-yard run tied the game.
“Everyone stepped up in this game, despite the injuries we had,” Martinson said. “We knew Windsor would pound the ball, and that’s a very good team. You don’t see 0-4 teams as good as they are.”
Norwich won the total yardage battle, 294-258, with Thomsen leading the Norwich passing game finishing 7for-9 for 81 yards. His only two incompletions were spike downs to stop the clock. Hoffman, filling in for an injured Christian Hotaling, had 41 yards rushing and 13 yards receiving. “I just think this team believes in the system and the coaching staff,” Martinson said. “They all have purple hearts, that’s what we call them.”
Score by quarters OT
Wind. 0 8 14 0 6–28
NHS 6 2 8 6 7–29
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
N: Paddy Law 4 run (kick failed)
Second quarter
N: Safety, Windsor punt blocked out of endzone
W: David Goetz 4 pass to Richie DiVirglio (Goetz pass to Kyle Saverton
Third quarter
W: Ryan Hayes 4 run (pass failed)
N: Seth Thomsen 80 kickoff return (Tyler Hoffman run)
W: Marino Hogan 1 run (Hayes run)
Fourth quarter
N: Alex Williams 5 run (run failed)
Overtime
W: Goetz 4 run (run failed)
N: Thomsen 2 run (Josh Favaloro kick)
Team Summary
W N
First downs 15 15
Rushes-yds 43-143 48-213
Passing yds 115 81
Comp-att-int 8-14-0 7-11-0
Total yards 258 284
Punts-avg 1-35 2-43.5
Fumbles-lost 2-2 2-1
Penalties-yds 3-15 7-49.5
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (N) Paddy Law, 12-61; Mackay Hotaling, 12-42; Tyler Hoffman, 8-41; Seth Thomsen, 8-27; Casey Edwards, 4-23; Alex Williams, 4-19. (W) Noah Sibley, 21-57; Ryan Hayes, 10-44; Garrett Gaeta, 4-19; David Goetz, 6-18; Mark Feggins, 1-4; Marino Hogan, 1-1.
Passing: (N) Seth Thomsen, 7-9-0, 81 yds, Casey Edwards, 0-2-0, 0 yds. (W) David Goetz, 8-14-0, 115 yds, TD.
Receiving: (N) Paddy Law, 3-41; Mackay Hotaling, 2-13; Josh Whaley, 1-14; Tyler Hoffman, 1-13. (W) Richie DiVirglio, 3-34; Branden Kimble, 2-23; Ryan Hayes, 1-36; David Whitman, 1-13; Kyle Saverton, 1-9.
Norwich matched Windsor’s overtime touchdown, but converted the game-winning extra-point kick to defeat the Black Knights, 29-28, Friday night at Norwich High School.
Norwich (1-0, 1-3) opened its season with three straight non-league losses, but is now perfect in division play, and one step closer to a postseason berth. “I said in the preseason, I don’t care if we’re 4-4. If you can win all four of your division games, you’re the champions,” Martinson said.
With the game tied at 22 entering overtime – the first NHS overtime contest in recent memory – neither club wasted much time punching the ball in for six points.
The Black Knights (0-4) won the coin flip, and used just five plays to score. Noah Sibley, a 218-pound senior fullback, had an eight-yard first-down run to the NHS eight, and two plays later, quarterback David Goetz scampered around the left end into the left corner of the endzone.
On the pivotal two-point conversion, Ryan Hayes was stopped short of the goal.
Norwich was even more efficient with its overtime possession. Paddy Law dashed 12 yards for a first down, then tacked on five more on the subsequent play. Tyler Hoffman gained one yard, then quarterback Seth Thomsen quick-snapped the ball and barged forward for the two-yard TD sneak.
Josh Favaloro was called upon for the extra point. Martinson considered a two-point attempt, but eventually decided on his junior kicker, who had converted 3-of-4 attempts on the season. Favaloro’s attempt could not have been more true as it split the uprights.
“I couldn’t have been more proud of Josh,” Martinson said.
Law, who led NHS with 61 yards rushing and three catches for 41 yards, said the overtime philosophy was a simple one. “We pretty much wanted to pound it at them,” Law said. “We didn’t think they could stop us, and they didn’t.”
“In the overtime, we just didn’t want to take any big risks,” Martinson said, backing up Law’s statement.
Before Norwich forced overtime, it needed its defensive play of the year to keep the tie score intact. On its only possession of the fourth quarter, Windsor took the ball methodically down the field gaining four first downs along the way.
Sibley and Hayes shared the ball-carrying duties, and Goetz sprinkled in a 13-yard first-down pass to David Whitman to move the chains.
Hayes had a one-yard run to the Norwich 2-yard line with less than 90 seconds left giving the Black Knights a first-and-goal. Norwich had little success slowing the visitors throughout the second half, and it seemed just a matter of time before Windsor would punch in the go-ahead score. At that point, Martinson called a timeout to make a plea to his defense.
“I told the team simply, we had to get the ball,” Martinson said.
Hayes got the call, and he was met at the four-yard line by NHS sophomore lineman Keegan Levesque and defensive back Casey Edwards. The jarring hit stood Hayes up and forced a fumble. The ball squirted forward into the back of the endzone, and Thomsen recovered the ball with 1:19 left.
Norwich did not settle for running out the clock. After Law gained nine yards for a first down, Thomsen picked apart the Windsor defense out of the shotgun formation. He scrambled for 11 yards, then hit Law, Tyler Hoffman, and Mackay Hotaling for a combined 34 yards of passing. Norwich reached as far as the 20, before time ran out.
Norwich, as it did in its first three games, was tied or in the lead at the halftime mark. The Tornado marched for a score on its opening drive of the game. Using 14 plays, Law’s four-yard TD score capped a 67-yard excursion.
Early in the second quarter, a Favaloro 49-yard punt pinned Windsor inside its five-yard line. Norwich forced a punt, and it was blocked by the Tornado’s Edwards in the endzone resulting in a safety.
Norwich’s 8-0 lead was squared up by Windsor with just 18.8 seconds left in the half. Goetz’s scrambled on a bootleg, and he found a wide-open Richie DiVirglio on a four-yard strike. Goetz executed the same play – on the other side no less – for the two-point conversion pass to Kyle Zaverton tying the game.
Windsor capitalized on a Norwich fumble early in the second half to take the lead for the first time. Thomsen mishandled a punt, and Windsor was left with just 14 yards for the go-ahead score. Hayes rushed in from four yards out and a 14-8 advantage.
Thomsen would immediately redeem himself on the ensuing kickoff. He returned the boot 80 yards for the score, Norwich’s first kickoff return TD in several years.
Windsor regained the lead on a nine-play, 65-yard drive late in the third.
Goetz completed two passes for 30 yards, a Norwich personal foul penalty added 10 yards, and Marino Hogan punched in the ball from the one-yard line making it 22-16.
Norwich drove for the tying score mixing the pass and run effectively, while also overcoming 20 yards in penalties. The key play was a 24-yard completion from Thomsen to Law on third-and-19 in which Law won a jump ball between two Windsor defenders. Situated at the Windsor five, Alex Williams’ five-yard run tied the game.
“Everyone stepped up in this game, despite the injuries we had,” Martinson said. “We knew Windsor would pound the ball, and that’s a very good team. You don’t see 0-4 teams as good as they are.”
Norwich won the total yardage battle, 294-258, with Thomsen leading the Norwich passing game finishing 7for-9 for 81 yards. His only two incompletions were spike downs to stop the clock. Hoffman, filling in for an injured Christian Hotaling, had 41 yards rushing and 13 yards receiving. “I just think this team believes in the system and the coaching staff,” Martinson said. “They all have purple hearts, that’s what we call them.”
Score by quarters OT
Wind. 0 8 14 0 6–28
NHS 6 2 8 6 7–29
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
N: Paddy Law 4 run (kick failed)
Second quarter
N: Safety, Windsor punt blocked out of endzone
W: David Goetz 4 pass to Richie DiVirglio (Goetz pass to Kyle Saverton
Third quarter
W: Ryan Hayes 4 run (pass failed)
N: Seth Thomsen 80 kickoff return (Tyler Hoffman run)
W: Marino Hogan 1 run (Hayes run)
Fourth quarter
N: Alex Williams 5 run (run failed)
Overtime
W: Goetz 4 run (run failed)
N: Thomsen 2 run (Josh Favaloro kick)
Team Summary
W N
First downs 15 15
Rushes-yds 43-143 48-213
Passing yds 115 81
Comp-att-int 8-14-0 7-11-0
Total yards 258 284
Punts-avg 1-35 2-43.5
Fumbles-lost 2-2 2-1
Penalties-yds 3-15 7-49.5
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (N) Paddy Law, 12-61; Mackay Hotaling, 12-42; Tyler Hoffman, 8-41; Seth Thomsen, 8-27; Casey Edwards, 4-23; Alex Williams, 4-19. (W) Noah Sibley, 21-57; Ryan Hayes, 10-44; Garrett Gaeta, 4-19; David Goetz, 6-18; Mark Feggins, 1-4; Marino Hogan, 1-1.
Passing: (N) Seth Thomsen, 7-9-0, 81 yds, Casey Edwards, 0-2-0, 0 yds. (W) David Goetz, 8-14-0, 115 yds, TD.
Receiving: (N) Paddy Law, 3-41; Mackay Hotaling, 2-13; Josh Whaley, 1-14; Tyler Hoffman, 1-13. (W) Richie DiVirglio, 3-34; Branden Kimble, 2-23; Ryan Hayes, 1-36; David Whitman, 1-13; Kyle Saverton, 1-9.
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