FOOTBALL

Union-Endicott 28, Norwich 7

ENDICOTT –Norwich was poised to take a lead into halftime – or at least remain tied with Union-Endicott. Instead, a drive thwarted was followed by a brilliant 80-yard scoring drive for the Tigers.

U-E quarterback Joey Orlando engineered go-ahead series completing six passes, the last of which found Nick Yesenky from 16 yards out with just four ticks on the clock and a 13-7 halftime advantage.

Yesensky made a key interception that set up that go-ahead possession for the Tigers. Norwich began a long drive from inside its own five-yard line, and advanced to the U-E 17-yard line. The Tornado attempted a fade pass to Kyle Edwards in the corner of the end zone that Yesensky stepped in to made the pick. “He just made a great play on the ball, and they were able to move the ball down the field with the passing game,” said Norwich coach John Martinson. “It was a big turnover for us. We felt that if we didn’t score a touchdown, we would at least attempt a field goal and hope to be up 10-7. We felt the momentum shift as a staff, and in the third quarter we gave them great field position after the kickoff. They just pounded us off tackle, and as a team, we did a poor job of tackling.”

It was in a 12-minute window – the end of the first half and most of the third quarter – that U-E took control of the game scoring three times. Running back Sammy Davis scored on a 13-yard run, and Yesensky was in the right place at the right time at the end of the third quarter scooping up a teammate’s fumble, and racing in from 15 yards out.

“The pendulum swung their way at the end of the half and in the third quarter, but I like how physical we were,” Martinson said. “We need to play that way the entire game. Our first drive was well executed, and the kids looked fantastic on film. I was pleased with the effort, and I think we have the makings of being a very good football team.”

Norwich took its opening drive for a touchdown mixing the pass and run effectively. Michael Sutton’s 26-yard TD pass to Grant Brightman and Zan Stewart’s PAT kick had Norwich in front.

Edwards led Norwich with 90 total yards of offense (rushing and receiving).

Norwich faces Owego on Friday

Score by quarters

NHS 7 0 0 0–7

U-E 0 13 15 0–28

Scoring Summary

N:  Michael Sutton 26 pass to Grant Brightman (Zan Stewart kick)

UE: Michael Cheslock 9 run (kick good)

UE: Joey Orlando 16 pass to Nick Yesensky (kick failed)

UE: Sammy Davis 13 run (kick good)

UE Yesensky 15 fumble return (Davis run)

Team Summary

N UE

First downs 16 19

Rushes-yds 42-123 33-223

Passing yds 87 114

Comp-att-int 7-15-1 8-16-1

Punts-avg 5-33.6 4-37.8

Fumbles-lost 4-0 2-0

Penalties-yds 4-30 8-85

Norwich Individual Statistics

Rushing: Kyle Edwards, 15-52; Grant Brightman, 12-32; Keagan Franklin, 4-19; Danny Carson, 1-14; Michael Oralls, 2-11; Tristan Rifanburg, 4-1; Michael Sutton, 4-(-6).

Passing: Michael Sutton, 7-14-2, 87 yds, TD; Brightman, 0-1-0.

Receiving; Edwards, 2-38; Brightman, 2-35; Matt Burke, 2-9; Rifanburg, 1-5.

Sherburne-Earlville 48, Mt. Markham 26

WEST WINFIELD - Sherburne-Earlville’s offense worked in reverse, and the results yielded the best and most balanced offensive performance in head coach Mike Jasper’s four-year coaching tenure.

Senior Matt Smith threw four TD passes – all to different receivers – and teammates Austin Jasper along with Devven Ferris scored a combined for five touchdowns in a key league win on the road Friday night.

“Usually we use the run to set up the pass, but we struggled a little bit with the running game early on,” Coach Jasper said. “Those passes caused some problems for (Mount Markham) and forced them into some things they weren’t comfortable doing. We were able to pop a couple of long runs in the second half.”

Following a tentative start in the first quarter, S-E picked up its first big break when Dalton Sopchak recovered a Mustangs fumble, one of three recoveries for the S-E defense. Shortly thereafter, Smith hit Cody Marango on a 25-yard TD strike to kickstart the offense.

Smith added scoring tosses of 17 yards to Julienne Alsheimer, 11 yards to Felix Rodriguez, and the backbreaker, a 55-yard bomb that hit Ferris in stride on the first possession of the second half.

Jasper scored on a 60-yard running burst in the second half to follow up his one-yard TD run in the first half, and a 53-yard TD run by Ferris had S-E up by five touchdowns at one point.

“We definitely wanted to be more balanced on offense this season, and we have the skill position players to do it,” Jasper said.

Smith finished 8-for-11 for 180 yards. Jasper led with 96 yards rushing and Ferris was right behind with 95.

The Marauders play at Morrisville-Eaton/Hamilton on Friday.

Score by quarters

S-E 7 21 20 0–48

MM 0 6 6 14–26

Scoring Summary

S-E: Matt Smith 25 pass to Cody Marango (Garrett Duvall kick)

S-E: Smith 11 pass to Felix Rodriguez (Garrett Duvall kick)

S-E: Smith 17 pass to Julienne Alsheimer (Garrett Duvall kick)

S-E: Austin Jasper 1 run (Garrett Duvall kick)

MM: Nate Hudson 44 pass to (unknown player) (run failed)

S-E: Smith 55 pass to Devven Ferris (Garrett Duvall kick)

MM: Hudson 15 pass to Mackenzie Dorie (pass failed)

S-E: Jasper 60 run (kick failed)

S-E: Ferris 53 run (Garrett Duvall kick)

MM: Josh Holtham 7 run (pass failed)

MM: Kyle Yager 65 run (Yager run)

S-E individual statistics (MM not available at press time)

Rushing: Jasper, 9-96; Ferris, 7-95; DuVall, 10-39; Smith, 4-20; Alsheimer, 3-12; Cody Marshall, 5-7; Cody Marango, 2-6.

Passing: Smith, 8-for-11, 180 yds, 4 TDs.

Receiving: Ferris, 4-96; Jasper, 1-30; Marango, 1-25; Alsheimer, 1-18, Rodriguez, 1-11.

Walton 42, Oxford 28