The time is now for the Norwich Purple Tornado. After three successive losses, all to non-conference opponents, NHS jumps head first into Section IV division play tonight when it travels to Windsor.
Since opening the season with a 21-0 shutout of Greene, the Black Knights have dropped back-to-back games including an 18-12 shutout loss to Owego. That same Owego team hung a 20-12 loss on Norwich one week earlier.
"Windsor is a physical team and we expect them to come at us and run between the tackles," said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie. "They had some success doing that against Owego, and I think it will come down to who controls the line of scrimmage."
The Black Knights feature strong-armed quarterback Jake Conroy – a threat to run and pass – who is a Division One college baseball recruit. "If we can contain Conroy, I think we will be okay," Chrystie said.
Norwich's defense has allowed 97 points in three games, but in fairness, the defense spent an extraordinary amount of time on the field as the Norwich offense has struggled to put together time-consuming drives. "We need to give our defense some help and put some points on the board," Chrystie said. "We've shown that we are capable of that, we just need to be consistent. We need to put together four good quarters, and when we do play a complete game, I think we will be a pretty good football team."
Norwich's biggest bright spot on offense remains senior running back Mike Oralls, who is among the area's leading rushers again with just over 300 yards in three games.
Five other local teams play this weekend. Below is a brief capsule of each one:

Sherburne-Earlville at Utica Notre Dame, Saturday, 2 p.m.
A pair of state-ranked clubs are in action this week as Utica Notre Dame hopes to avenge last year's loss to the Marauders. Third-year starter Kevin Warmack guides the Jugglers' offense at quarterback, and has more than five TDs rushing and passing this season. Just last week, Warmack ran for four touchdowns in a blowout victory.
"I think every defense that has faced Warmack knows that he presents problems," said S-E coach Mike Jasper. "He's a fast, shifty, talented kid. He's a running back in the backfield who throws it well when he wants to."
UND has other weapons on offense including receivers Joe Sullivan and Jerome Brabham.
The Marauders, too, have shown a high-powered attack, and is averaging over 400 yards of offense and 43 points per game in three victories. "We're a little more balanced this year, and you're a better team offensively when you make teams defend the whole field," Jasper said. "But we would like to establish the run and dictate the pace of this game."
The contest is scheduled at Utica Notre Dame High School.
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Oxford (2-1) at Candor (1-1), Friday, 7 p.m.
Coming off a week where it had to play short-handed due to illness, the Blackhawks will be at nearly full strength as it attempts to win its third road game in as many tries.
Candor has one victory, and surprisingly had a bye week with no available opponent before suffering a 56-6 division loss to defending Class D champion Tioga last week. "They have a quick guy who is a running back and a receiver," said Oxford coach Jeff Newton. "I think this will be similar to last week's game: A dogfight to the end."
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Sidney (1-2) at Unadilla Valley (0-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
One thing you can count on tonight at Unadilla Valley is plenty of passing. The Storm have nearly 600 yards passing in three games, and Sidney has averaged over 30 pass attempts per game.
"Sidney is a solid football team and very tough to prepare for as they spread the field and can also go Wing T on you with a solid run game," said UV coach Mark Segina. "We have been stressing all week that we need to play the whole field this week, not just pin our ears back and fire in to stop a downhill running attack."
For its own purposes, UV would like to make strides in its running game. Other than a couple of big runs, it has yet to find consistency in that area of the offense. "It's a huge goal for us this week to make yards on the ground," Segina said.
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Chenango Forks (3-0) at Greene, (0-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
Chenango Forks is looking every bit the part of a defending state champion romping over Sidney a week ago, 62-6. "Forks is an excellent team that plays with a lot of confidence," said Greene coach Dave Gorton. "We are continuing to work on protecting the football and limiting our mistakes on offense. Defensively, we have tackled better this week in practice, and we need that to continue into the game to limit Chenango Forks' big plays."
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Unatego (3-0) at Bainbridge-Guilford (0-3), Friday, 7 p.m.
Unatego's prolific offense, led by quarterback Josh Feyerabend and all-purpose back Tanner Winchester, invade Bainbridge-Guilford tonight.
The Spartans, sectional finalists last year, have shown no let-up in rolling to a 3-0 start. Feyerabend and Winchester are two prime components of a quick-strike offense, and a tenacious defense. "We have some tough matchups to defend, and they're a very athletic team," said B-G coach Tim Mattingly. "Feyerabend has a tremendous arm and he has excellent receivers. He can also hurt you with his legs."
Bainbridge-Guilford had its best offensive game in three starts last week against Delhi, but was plagued by mental errors and little things in a last-minute loss to Delhi. "We know Unatego will get its yards, we just have to contain them as best we can and play bend-but-not-break defense," Mattingly said. "We'll have to get pressure on the quarterback and hope we can make some plays."