By Patrick Newell
Sun Sports Editor
SIDNEY – Sidney coach Jeff Matthews achieved a coaching milestone Friday night against Norwich, and was quick to distribute credit elsewhere.
Meanwhile, his Warriors improved to 2-0 on the season turning back the Tornado’s second-half surge in a 28-19 triumph.
Matthews took over the Sidney program in 1996, and the previous season Sidney did not have a football program due to budget constraints. In just one decade and a state title already in the hopper, Matthews has established his school as one of the burgeoning programs. He is also perched atop the victory list in school history.
“It’s longevity, and not a lot of guys have stayed in this position very long,” Matthews said. “My name is on the list, but for me to take credit for it is ridiculous. It’s the kids, and we’ve assembled a great coaching staff.”
Career win number 54 was by no means a cake walk for Matthews and his talented Sidney club, even though the host club did not punt in the game and held a total yardage advantage of 420-259.
Norwich, down 14-0 within the game's first 10 minutes, rallied to close to within 21-19 after completing a 20-play, 84-yard drive that consumed more than 10 minutes of the third quarter. On a third-down pass, Robert Martin tossed his first TD pass of the season connecting from seven yards to sophomore Tyler Slater. The two-point try to tie the game was off the mark leaving Norwich a pair of points short.
To preface Norwich's score, Sidney was poised to add to its halftime advantage rather quickly. Chase Mott rushed 59 yards to Norwich's 11 on the first play of the second half. On the subsequent play, Norwich forced a fumble that was recovered by Marco Knuth. An opportunistic NHS defense forced two key fumbles to halt Sidney drives, but when push came to shove, Sidney had the final answer early in the fourth quarter.
Following a poor Norwich punt that netted only five yards, Sidney upped its lead to nine points in just three plays. Jared Mertz's nine-yard scramble put the cap on the night's scoring. “We fully expected Norwich to come back and we were not comfortable with that early lead,” Matthews said. “We never lost confidence in what we were doing on offense, and after that first play in the third quarter it looked good for us. We fumbled the ball and then we never saw it again. We just wanted to get the ball back.”
Norwich drove into Sidney territory on its first possession of the game gaining momentum on Martin's 36-yard third-down pass to Shane Thompson. On the next play, Mertz recovered an NHS fumbled and raced 66 yards to paydirt. After another defensive stop, Sidney scored on its first offensive possession taking it 68 yards on nine plays. Mott's nine-yard dash made it 14-0.
Norwich closed the gap to within 21-13 at halftime. Brennan Ryan, who rushed for a career-high 104 yards, scored on a two-yard run, and later hit a home run with a 62-yard sprint up the middle in the second. Sidney interrupted that score on Justin Burpoe's 15-yard jaunt in which he broke several tackles on his way to the end zone.
JV Notes: Norwich improved to 2-0 winning 33-20 over the Warriors. Alex Williams and Tim Clark had two TD runs, and Clark threw a touchdown pass to Andrew Austin.
Football summary
N S
First downs 11 15
Rushes-yds 41-181 36-317
Passing yds 78 103
