Maine-Endwell beats Norwich for 41st straight victory
NORWICH – For over three years, all Maine-Endwell has done is win football games.
After encountering some early resistance from Norwich Friday night, the Spartans took complete control of the game winning their 41st straight game, 42-7.
Maine-Endwell’s Drew Gallagher snatched the Tornado’s early momentum away scoring on a 74-yard TD run in the first quarter. That run came two plays removed from Norwich’s biggest offensive bright spot – a 26-yard Cole Rifanburg TD run that tied the game at 7-7.
Gallagher’s run started on the left side of the line, then he cut it back to the right where he found a clear path to the endzone. Gallagher outraced the Norwich defense for the score, and M-E as a whole outraced the Tornado.
Norwich turned the ball over four times – two interceptions and two fumbles – that directly led to two M-E touchdowns.
“The turnovers killed us,” said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie. “We gave up the interception deep into the red zone, and then that 74-yard run put a damper on how well we were playing early in the game. “They hit us with the big play, and they took advantage of our mistakes,” said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie. “We knew we didn’t have to play a perfect game, but we needed to play a great game, and we made too many mistakes to compete with a team like Maine-Endwell.”
Gallagher intercepted a Norwich pass on the first possession of the game. Rifanburg targeted Jordan Vinal on the left side, but the pass was on the outside of Vinal instead of inside the defense, and Gallagher returned the pick 52 yards to the Norwich two. On a fourth-and-goal, Gallagher’s older brother, Adam Gallagher, caught a five-yard TD pass.
After an exchange of punts, Norwich marched for its lone TD. Mike Oralls found a seam on the left side rushing for 21 yards, and Rifanburg kept the ball on the draw play slicing the middle of the M-E defense for the score.
Norwich rushed for 68 yards in the first quarter, but was held to just 35 yards rushing on 26 carries the rest of the game. And, for the second time in as many weeks, the Tornado failed to score in the second half.
“With our offense, it comes down to consistency,” Chrystie said. “We felt we were well prepared, and we just didn’t execute. I don’t think we were overmatched physically, they just took advantage of our mistakes.”
Maine-Endwell padded its lead with 77- and 56-yard scoring drives in the second quarter. Quarterback Kevin Barrett completed a 37-yard pass to Michael Palmer to inside the Norwich 10, and Adam Gallagher’s one-yard run extended the lead to two scores.
Norwich produced its second straight three-and-out possession giving M-E the ball near midfield with 3:11 left in the half.
Barrett, the backup quarterback for the Spartans, rambled 18 yards on an option keeper, and John Cerra’s 12-yard TD run with 55 seconds left raised the advantage to 28-7.
Norwich was its own worst enemy in the third quarter turning it over on all three possessions. The Spartans scored early in the third and on the first play of the fourth quarter to salt away the win.
Norwich (0-3) remains winless, but has yet to play a division game. That omission on the schedule will be addressed this weekend when the Tornado face Windsor. “I told the team I’d rather be 0-3 and win the next six than 3-0 and lose next week,” Chrystie said. “We don’t have many division games, so we’re treating this week like a playoff game. We’ll work hard in practice and prepare for Friday’s game against Windsor.”
Score by quarters
M-E 14 14 7 7-42
Nor. 7 0 0 0—7
Scoring Summary
First quarter
ME: Kevin Barrett 5 pass to Adam Gallagher (Stephen Pham kick)
N: Cole Rifanburg 26 run (Zan Stewart kick)
M-E: Drew Gallagher 74 run (Pham kick)
Second quarter
M-E: Adam Gallagher 1 run (Pham kick)
M-E: John Cerra 2 run (Pham kick)
Third quarter
M-E: David Verrastro 12 run (Pham kick)
Fourth quarter
M-E: Drew Gallagher 38 pass to Michael Palmer (Pham kick)
Team Summary
ME N
First downs 10 9
Rushes-yds 40-216 37-103
Passing yds 118 35
Comp-att-int 4-6-0 3-9-2
Punts-avg 6-31.2 6-38.2
Fumbles-lost 2-0 2-2
Penalties-yds 3-45 5-53
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (ME) Drew Gallagher, 3-72; Adam Gallagher, 8-39; Kevin Barrett, 5-33; John Cerra, 6-28; Trent Story, 7-21; David Verrastro, 3-9; Tyler Rockwell, 4-7; Lance Sheard, 1-4; Cordell Woolfolk, 1-3. (N) Mike Oralls, 14-48; Cole Rifanburg, 15-36; Tristan Rifanburg, 5-13; Nick Murphy, 3-6.
Passing: (ME) Barrett, 2-4-0, 42 yds, TD; D. Gallagher, 2-2-0, 76 yds, TD; (N) Cole Rifanburg, 3-9-2, 35 yds.
Receiving: (ME) Michael Palmer, 3-113; Adam Gallagher, 1-5. (N) Mike Oralls, 1-12; Tristan Rifanburg, 1-12; Zan Stewart, 1-11.
After encountering some early resistance from Norwich Friday night, the Spartans took complete control of the game winning their 41st straight game, 42-7.
Maine-Endwell’s Drew Gallagher snatched the Tornado’s early momentum away scoring on a 74-yard TD run in the first quarter. That run came two plays removed from Norwich’s biggest offensive bright spot – a 26-yard Cole Rifanburg TD run that tied the game at 7-7.
Gallagher’s run started on the left side of the line, then he cut it back to the right where he found a clear path to the endzone. Gallagher outraced the Norwich defense for the score, and M-E as a whole outraced the Tornado.
Norwich turned the ball over four times – two interceptions and two fumbles – that directly led to two M-E touchdowns.
“The turnovers killed us,” said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie. “We gave up the interception deep into the red zone, and then that 74-yard run put a damper on how well we were playing early in the game. “They hit us with the big play, and they took advantage of our mistakes,” said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie. “We knew we didn’t have to play a perfect game, but we needed to play a great game, and we made too many mistakes to compete with a team like Maine-Endwell.”
Gallagher intercepted a Norwich pass on the first possession of the game. Rifanburg targeted Jordan Vinal on the left side, but the pass was on the outside of Vinal instead of inside the defense, and Gallagher returned the pick 52 yards to the Norwich two. On a fourth-and-goal, Gallagher’s older brother, Adam Gallagher, caught a five-yard TD pass.
After an exchange of punts, Norwich marched for its lone TD. Mike Oralls found a seam on the left side rushing for 21 yards, and Rifanburg kept the ball on the draw play slicing the middle of the M-E defense for the score.
Norwich rushed for 68 yards in the first quarter, but was held to just 35 yards rushing on 26 carries the rest of the game. And, for the second time in as many weeks, the Tornado failed to score in the second half.
“With our offense, it comes down to consistency,” Chrystie said. “We felt we were well prepared, and we just didn’t execute. I don’t think we were overmatched physically, they just took advantage of our mistakes.”
Maine-Endwell padded its lead with 77- and 56-yard scoring drives in the second quarter. Quarterback Kevin Barrett completed a 37-yard pass to Michael Palmer to inside the Norwich 10, and Adam Gallagher’s one-yard run extended the lead to two scores.
Norwich produced its second straight three-and-out possession giving M-E the ball near midfield with 3:11 left in the half.
Barrett, the backup quarterback for the Spartans, rambled 18 yards on an option keeper, and John Cerra’s 12-yard TD run with 55 seconds left raised the advantage to 28-7.
Norwich was its own worst enemy in the third quarter turning it over on all three possessions. The Spartans scored early in the third and on the first play of the fourth quarter to salt away the win.
Norwich (0-3) remains winless, but has yet to play a division game. That omission on the schedule will be addressed this weekend when the Tornado face Windsor. “I told the team I’d rather be 0-3 and win the next six than 3-0 and lose next week,” Chrystie said. “We don’t have many division games, so we’re treating this week like a playoff game. We’ll work hard in practice and prepare for Friday’s game against Windsor.”
Score by quarters
M-E 14 14 7 7-42
Nor. 7 0 0 0—7
Scoring Summary
First quarter
ME: Kevin Barrett 5 pass to Adam Gallagher (Stephen Pham kick)
N: Cole Rifanburg 26 run (Zan Stewart kick)
M-E: Drew Gallagher 74 run (Pham kick)
Second quarter
M-E: Adam Gallagher 1 run (Pham kick)
M-E: John Cerra 2 run (Pham kick)
Third quarter
M-E: David Verrastro 12 run (Pham kick)
Fourth quarter
M-E: Drew Gallagher 38 pass to Michael Palmer (Pham kick)
Team Summary
ME N
First downs 10 9
Rushes-yds 40-216 37-103
Passing yds 118 35
Comp-att-int 4-6-0 3-9-2
Punts-avg 6-31.2 6-38.2
Fumbles-lost 2-0 2-2
Penalties-yds 3-45 5-53
Individual Statistics
Rushing: (ME) Drew Gallagher, 3-72; Adam Gallagher, 8-39; Kevin Barrett, 5-33; John Cerra, 6-28; Trent Story, 7-21; David Verrastro, 3-9; Tyler Rockwell, 4-7; Lance Sheard, 1-4; Cordell Woolfolk, 1-3. (N) Mike Oralls, 14-48; Cole Rifanburg, 15-36; Tristan Rifanburg, 5-13; Nick Murphy, 3-6.
Passing: (ME) Barrett, 2-4-0, 42 yds, TD; D. Gallagher, 2-2-0, 76 yds, TD; (N) Cole Rifanburg, 3-9-2, 35 yds.
Receiving: (ME) Michael Palmer, 3-113; Adam Gallagher, 1-5. (N) Mike Oralls, 1-12; Tristan Rifanburg, 1-12; Zan Stewart, 1-11.
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