Norwich defeats Syracuse IT on the backs Race and Rifanburg
SYRACUSE – The Norwich Purple Tornado traveled north on Friday, Sept. 16 to play The Eagles of Syracuse Institute of Technology.
A game which would feature two athletic teams, both coming off losses the prior week, saw Norwich emerge late for the win at 21-12.
Late in the fourth quarter, only up 14-12 with :30 seconds left in the game, Norwich would seal off the win to move to 2-1 on the year when quarterback Cole Rifanburg would find the end zone from two yards out. This marked the second touchdown in the game for Cole. An extra-point kick solidified a Norwich win at 21-12.
The Tornado defense would hold for the short remainder of the game.
“We always talk about all the time the idea of the next man up. So when someone goes down, well this game made that statement true, we had a lot of guys step up where they needed to. So to come out of there with W, it's a good win for us,” said Norwich head coach Mike Chrystie.
Norwich would suffer through two early losses from injury, which required players to step up on both sides of the ball. On offense Norwich elected to hand the reigns to Zack Race.
Race is a junior, who previously has qualified and placed in the 100 and 200 meter dashes at the New York State Track and Field Meet in 2016. Race would be asked to showcase that speed once again as he stepped in as the main running back against the Eagles. Race would take advantage of his opportunities as he helped carry Norwich to their victory with his 109 yard performance on the ground. These yards would come off of 15 carries, as Race would find the end zone once in the second quarter of play.
“Zack has taken a few reps for us as our R-back but I don’t know if anyone anticipated him stepping in and looking like he has played there all year. It worked out great for us, he had a couple good carries, had a couple that got some much needed first downs for us, and he found the end zone. So I think it was a good confidence booster for him and a good confidence booster for our team,” said coach Chrystie.
An early second quarter Cole Rifanburg touchdown on the ground, coupled with the the touchdown from Race from five yards out would give Norwich a 14-0 lead. However, the Eagles would grind their way back into the game.
“We were able to move the ball pretty well on them. Our Achilles heel on offense was our four turnovers,” said coach Chrystie. “The turnovers gave them a short field, our defense played well and we obviously have some things we need to clean up on both sides of the ball.”
Syracuse IT would see that 14-0 lead and raise Norwich to just a two point lead following some costly fumbles and interceptions. Ny'Shawn Jennings of Syracuse would find the end zone twice, once to close out the first half, and once to begin the third quarter.
“To lose the turnover battle and still come out of there with a win over in my opinion a very athletic team is good. There record doesn’t really reflect how athletic that team is,” said coach Chrystie.
Cole would then grind his way in for his second touchdown in the game to cap off the win at 21-12 as Norwich downed Syracuse IT on the road. Cole would finish with 93 yards and two touchdowns, on the ground for the Tornado. While through the air, Cole would complete 4-8 with 59 yards and two interceptions. Receiving on the day saw Michael Carson grab two passes from Rifanburg for 32 yards, while Zach Mills and Ky'sawn Veale each would grab one pass a piece for 17 and 10 yards respectively.
Leading the game in tackles on the defensive side for Norwich was senior Carter Hubbard who would rack up 7.5 tackles with 1.5 tackles for a loss and one sack.
Up next for Norwich (2-1), will be the Black Knights of Windsor. A team that was most recently ranked 17th in class B standings and is currently undefeated at 3-0. Norwich will host Windsor on Friday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m.
Notably, Windsor is coming off a 71-17 win against Dryden.
“They’re very athletic, they have the ability to do both (run and pass). They have a lot of starters back from last year, their quarterback is fast, they have a stud running back a big phyical kid. Theyll want to establish the run, but they have the ability to everything,” said coach Chrystie of Windsor. “I am excited, and I think the kids relish the opportunity to play good teams, it's a good thing. Hopefully we'll be prepared and we get after it on Friday.”
N: 0 14 0 7– 21
S: 0 6 6 0– 12
A game which would feature two athletic teams, both coming off losses the prior week, saw Norwich emerge late for the win at 21-12.
Late in the fourth quarter, only up 14-12 with :30 seconds left in the game, Norwich would seal off the win to move to 2-1 on the year when quarterback Cole Rifanburg would find the end zone from two yards out. This marked the second touchdown in the game for Cole. An extra-point kick solidified a Norwich win at 21-12.
The Tornado defense would hold for the short remainder of the game.
“We always talk about all the time the idea of the next man up. So when someone goes down, well this game made that statement true, we had a lot of guys step up where they needed to. So to come out of there with W, it's a good win for us,” said Norwich head coach Mike Chrystie.
Norwich would suffer through two early losses from injury, which required players to step up on both sides of the ball. On offense Norwich elected to hand the reigns to Zack Race.
Race is a junior, who previously has qualified and placed in the 100 and 200 meter dashes at the New York State Track and Field Meet in 2016. Race would be asked to showcase that speed once again as he stepped in as the main running back against the Eagles. Race would take advantage of his opportunities as he helped carry Norwich to their victory with his 109 yard performance on the ground. These yards would come off of 15 carries, as Race would find the end zone once in the second quarter of play.
“Zack has taken a few reps for us as our R-back but I don’t know if anyone anticipated him stepping in and looking like he has played there all year. It worked out great for us, he had a couple good carries, had a couple that got some much needed first downs for us, and he found the end zone. So I think it was a good confidence booster for him and a good confidence booster for our team,” said coach Chrystie.
An early second quarter Cole Rifanburg touchdown on the ground, coupled with the the touchdown from Race from five yards out would give Norwich a 14-0 lead. However, the Eagles would grind their way back into the game.
“We were able to move the ball pretty well on them. Our Achilles heel on offense was our four turnovers,” said coach Chrystie. “The turnovers gave them a short field, our defense played well and we obviously have some things we need to clean up on both sides of the ball.”
Syracuse IT would see that 14-0 lead and raise Norwich to just a two point lead following some costly fumbles and interceptions. Ny'Shawn Jennings of Syracuse would find the end zone twice, once to close out the first half, and once to begin the third quarter.
“To lose the turnover battle and still come out of there with a win over in my opinion a very athletic team is good. There record doesn’t really reflect how athletic that team is,” said coach Chrystie.
Cole would then grind his way in for his second touchdown in the game to cap off the win at 21-12 as Norwich downed Syracuse IT on the road. Cole would finish with 93 yards and two touchdowns, on the ground for the Tornado. While through the air, Cole would complete 4-8 with 59 yards and two interceptions. Receiving on the day saw Michael Carson grab two passes from Rifanburg for 32 yards, while Zach Mills and Ky'sawn Veale each would grab one pass a piece for 17 and 10 yards respectively.
Leading the game in tackles on the defensive side for Norwich was senior Carter Hubbard who would rack up 7.5 tackles with 1.5 tackles for a loss and one sack.
Up next for Norwich (2-1), will be the Black Knights of Windsor. A team that was most recently ranked 17th in class B standings and is currently undefeated at 3-0. Norwich will host Windsor on Friday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m.
Notably, Windsor is coming off a 71-17 win against Dryden.
“They’re very athletic, they have the ability to do both (run and pass). They have a lot of starters back from last year, their quarterback is fast, they have a stud running back a big phyical kid. Theyll want to establish the run, but they have the ability to everything,” said coach Chrystie of Windsor. “I am excited, and I think the kids relish the opportunity to play good teams, it's a good thing. Hopefully we'll be prepared and we get after it on Friday.”
N: 0 14 0 7– 21
S: 0 6 6 0– 12
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