WAVERLY – Uncharacteristic turnovers and the inability to cash in on good drives conspired against Norwich’s postseason hopes.

The Purple Tornado turned it over three times, and were shut down on multiple hopeful drives in a 28-7 Class B semifinals playoff loss to top-seeded Waverly on Friday night.

It was the second win for the Wolverines (9-0) over the Purple Tornado (5-5) this season.

In week three, Waverly upended Norwich 30-18. In that matchup, though, Norwich was able to put points on the board in the first half.

This time around, Norwich had a promising opening drive into Waverly territory. But it ended in a turnover. The Purple didn’t sniff the end zone again the rest of the first half.

“It seemed like every time we got a break or forced a turnover, we couldn’t capitalize,” said Norwich head coach Mike Chrystie. “In big games this year, that seems to be the thing that sticks out the most.”

Norwich was yielding yards in the first half, but not points. A single Waverly rushing TD from quarterback Ben Shaw gave the host club a 7-0 lead heading into halftime.

The Tornado’s bend-but-not-break defense folded in the face of Waverly’s balanced offensive attack.

While the Wolverines were productive on the ground amassing 257 rushing yards, Shaw was also efficient through the air completing 13 of 18 passes for 177 yards.

That mix of run and pass, though, hit a hard stop on the opening drive of the second half.

Waverly fumbled the ball on the first rushing play of the second half giving Norwich the ball at the Waverly 46.

Norwich quarterback Cooper Chrystie completed a big third-down pass for a first down to extend the possession, but on the next play, Norwich fumbled it back to Waverly.

From there, Waverly marched 65 yards for its second score. Shaw had a 30-yard run and a pair of first-down completions to set up a Shaw one-yard TD run.

After forcing a Norwich three-and-out, Waverly tacked on a third score moving 50 yards to paydirt to up the lead to 21-0.

“Waverly is a great program that has had a lot of success the last handful of years,” Coach Chrystie said. “I don’t think our kids were intimidated in any way. We were ready and prepared, but they capitalized on more breaks, and that was the story of the game.”

Norwich broke through for its lone score late in the third quarter.

Senior running back, Zack Parker dashed 48 yards for the touchdown. Parker led the Tornado offense – and all running backs – with 154 yards on 20 carries.

It was a banner season for Parker, who wrapped up his Tornado football career with one of the best single seasons for a Norwich back.

Parker had at least one rushing touchdown in all 10 games, and unofficially rushed for 1,407 yards to go with 19 rushing touchdowns.

“Zack had a historic year for us,” Coach Chrystie said. “He gave us everything he had, and was everything we needed in a running back this season.”

Chrystie is optimistic moving forward as a number of key players return next year, and the team will also get an infusion of talent from a winning junior varsity program.

“I told the team (Friday night after the game) that we’re in the midst of something special this year,” the Norwich coach said.  “This year will be the spark as far as setting the culture and the standard for the future.”

Score by quarters

Norw.   0   0   7   0—7

Waverly 0  7 14  7—28

Scoring Summary

W, Ben Shaw 1 run (Hogan Shaw kick); W, Ben Shaw 1 run (Hogan Shaw kick); W, Cooper Robinson 34 run (H. Shaw kick); N, Zack Parker 48 run (Parker kick); W, Ben Shaw 25 pass to Dalton Davis (H. Shaw kick)

Individual Statistics

Waverly team: 38-257 yards. Norwich: Zack Parker 20-154, Hunter Pierce 1-11, Carter Chrystie 1-8, Joey Parker 2-4, Cooper Chrystie 3-(-10).

Passing:  Waverly:  Ben Shaw 13-18-0, 177 yds, TD.  Norwich: Cooper Chrystie 17-27-2, 136 yards.

Receiving: Norwich:  Carter Chrystie 9-79, Damien Dubois 3-23, Josh Lindridge 2-10, Unknown 1-13, Leland Montgomery 1-11, Zack Parker 1-0.