CONKLIN- Dramatic. Thriller. Suspenseful. Words to capture the Tornado’s biggest victory on Friday night as Norwich achieved a vivid victory over the Susquehanna Valley Sabers, the eighth ranked team in NY State Class C Football.
A last-minute defensive stop by Norwich’s sophomore safety Holden Ryan sealed the deal for the Tornado as they marched onto a 14-12 victory over the Sabers.
“It was a really great atmosphere for the kids to be in. It was probably the most physical game I think I’ve ever coached in. And our kids, my hats off to them...they’re a great group and they played their tails off” said Norwich Head Coach Mike Chrystie on his team’s performance.
With SV leading 6-0 at the half, after a Quintin Bowman 45 yard TD pass to Kaylab Smith in the opening quarter. Norwich’s zen like focus remained on executing their offense and staying patient. Having already methodically put drives into Saber territory during the first half, the Tornado just needed to be patient when it came to putting points on the board.
“I told the kids when we take the lead in this half we’re never looking back” said Chrystie on what he told his team at halftime.
“The whole first half we moved the ball and we had some pretty bad field position. We had several drives over 60 yards, but our field position was just so poor that we didn’t get any points.”
Norwich knew it was only going to be a matter of time to end their scoring drought.
When Norwich took the field in the third quarter- it was for all intents and purposes a brand new ballgame.
Behind the strength of their offensive line, the Purple and White set the tone early and opened up holes for the Norwich running game to make the necessary plays. Norwich’s three-headed running attack of seniors’ Evan Sylstra, Mallachi Gaters, and Torin Lawrence had found their footing.
Lawrence’s five-yard touchdown run as the clock expired in the third quarter tied the game at six for the Purple.
After a key Mason Edwards’ interception midway in the fourth quarter- Norwich set-up shop in Saber territory and ran the ball down the field behind their offensive brick-wall.
“Our offensive line took this challenge personally…everyone talks about how physical Sus Valley is and how much success they’ve had in the last several years,” said Chrystie.
“I challenged them (Norwich’s O-line) on Monday. I said that if we want to make a statement its going to be because of our offensive line…Harrison (Matlack-Grey), Gabe (Blenis), Jake (Llewellyn), Dakota (Andrial), Hunter (Wenzel) and Tony Derensis...those big guys up front…they did one heck of a job for us.”
In a short yardage and goal situation late in the fourth- pristine blocking by the Norwich O-line and backfield allowed Torin Lawrence to score his second TD of the game on a one-yard run to give the Purple the 12-6 lead. A successful two-point conversion by sophomore back-up quarterback Sandler Montgomery padded the NHS lead to 14-6.
Flash-forward to 1:04 left to go in the ballgame- the Saber’s Quintin Bowman scored on an eight-yard touchdown run to bring SV back within two points setting the score to 14-12.
The stage was set. The game was on the line. Would SV score or would the Tornado defense hold strong?
Fortunately for Norwich the latter held true.
“Holden Ryan, our safety came up and made a monster hit on their running back to prevent him from getting in the end zone. said Norwich’s Chrystie, recounting the pivotal play for the Purple. “It was just a great play to prevent their (SV’s) best running back from getting in the end zone to tie it up.”
Norwich’s Evan Sylstra led Norwich in rushing yards with 167, Mallachi Gaters recorded 83 yards and Torin Lawrence had 88 yards with two rushing TDs.
Norwich’s Brady Smith led the team in tackles with six, teammate Evan Sylstra recored 5.5 tackles on the night. The Purple Tornado’s Mason Edwards and Trent Wessels each recorded and interception.
SV’s Ryan Rychlewski recorded 107 yards rushing, quarterback Quintin Bowman threw for 114 yards with one touchdown for the Sabers, and Kaylab Smith had 109 receiving yards with one touchdown.
It’ll be back to work on Monday for the Tornado as they focus on their next test: the Windsor Black Knights, who were 38-26 winners over Ithaca on Thursday night.
“We go from the hunter to the hunted,” said Chrystie, “We’re going to get everybody’s best game from here on out…we have a target on ourselves now whether we want it or not.”
The Tornado are back in action on Friday September 24th when they host the Windsor Black Knights at Ulrich Field with kick-off at 7 pm.
Score by quarters
NORWICH- 0 0 6 8 – 14
SUS Valley- 6 0 0 6- 12
Summary:
First downs: N 24 SV 11; Rushes-yds: N 57- 342; SV 32- 226 Passing; N 2-4-0, 20 yds; SV 4-9-0, 114yds. Total yards: N 362; SV 340. Punts-avg: N 2- 35; SV 0-0. Penalties-yds. N 3-45; SV 3-35. Fumbles-lost: N 1-1; SV 0-0. Records: N 2-0; SV 1-1.
Scoring: SV, Quintin Bowman 45 yd TD pass to Kaylab Smith (2pt conversion fails). N, Torin Lawrence runs for 5 yd TD (Extra Point fails). N, Torin Lawrence runs for 1 yd TD (Two-Point conversion by Sandler Montgomery success). SV, Quintin Bowman runs for 8 yd TD (Two-Point conversion fails).

Individual Statistics
Rushing:  N E. Sylstra 23-167, T. Lawrence 16-88, M. Gaters 14-83; SV R. Rychlewski 10-107, Q. Bowman 12-63, S. Howard 4-47, S. Cook 2-17. A.Leonard 1-2.
Passing:  N: Lawrence 2-4-0 20; SV: Bowman 4-9-2 114.
Receiving:  N: H. Ryan 1-12, T. Wessels 1-8; SV: K. Smith 3-109, S.Howard 1-5.