NORWICH – Greene’s understudies were called into duty Friday night at Norwich High School, and performed to rave reviews.
Trojans backup quarterback Cole Browning directed his team on a 65-yard TD march, one that was finished off by backup running back Joel Roselle’s two-yard plunge with 59 seconds left in the fourth quarter as Greene defeated the Purple Tornado, 12-7 on NHS’s senior recognition night.
The Tornado, losers of three straight at home, had one final possession, but quarterback Mike Sutton’s desperation pass was intercepted by Trojans defensive back Lane Whittaker to end a last-chance rally.
Browning’s numbers were not especially gaudy: He rushed for 22 yards and passed for 33, but regularly worked himself out of troublesome situations scrambling for positive yards. Roselle, seeing significant time in place of hobbled running back Mike Beckwith, finished with 53 yards rushing.
“We talk about this all the time in practice: When one guy goes down, it creates an opportunity for another,” said Greene head coach Tim Paske. “With Mike hurt (and starting quarterback Joe Beckwith out with an injury), we repped other guys all week. We gave them the opportunity tonight, and they were able to get the job done.”
The Trojans didn’t make it easy on themselves despite a dominant second half in which they had possession of the ball two-thirds of the time. On the winning drive, Greene committed two penalties, and in the third quarter, drove to Norwich’s two-yard line. A fumbled snap on third-and-goal lost a yard, and Norwich lineman Joe Smith made a shoestring tackle of a scrambling Browning for an eight-yard loss to end the scoring threat.
Still, the resolve of the Trojans kept its slim playoff hopes alive. With a 6-2 record, Greene needed a Newark Valley win over Sidney Saturday afternoon to earn a Class C playoff appearance. The Cardinals were unable to pull off the win over Sidney, but a victory over Norwich lessened the disappointment of missing the postseason.
“Norwich has a great tradition of winning, and we’re still young in building that tradition,” Paske said. “Any time you can come to Norwich and get a win, that’s huge. We have tremendous respect for Coach (John) Martinson and the Norwich program.”
Not unlike Greene, Norwich had its opportunities to put more points on the board.
Norwich’s first two drives in the first half entered Greene territory, but each time the Tornado came away empty-handed. Midway through the second quarter, NHS drove 87 yards for its lone score, the last play a 29-yard TD run up the middle by sophomore Mike Oralls. Oralls led all ground gainers with 118 yards on 14 carries. That score was the last time Norwich threatened the Greene red zone.
The Trojans, who had yet to gain a first down in the first half, took over with 3:23 left in the first half. An NHS defensive holding penalty extended the drive, and that was followed by a pass interference penalty on the Tornado that moved Greene to the Norwich 31. Three plays later, Dan Treadwell ran 20 yards deep into NHS territory, and Treadwell’s six-yard TD run put his team on the board. Despite controlling the entire first half, NHS led by a mere point, 7-6, at halftime.
“We shot ourselves in the foot too many times, and not being able to capitalize and score more points hurt,” Martinson said. “Give Greene credit, they hung in there the whole game.”
The bright spot for Martinson and his troops was a return to the type of football his team was used to playing, even in the loss. Paske agreed with that notion completely.
“That was not the Norwich team we saw the last two weeks,” the Greene coach said.
Martinson qualified his praise with the reality that while his team did improve, but the game still ended with a loss. “We’re definitely disappointed, but I told our team that I was proud of their effort,” Martinson said. “Greene’s only two losses were to Chenango Forks and to Sidney. We played Sidney, and we know how good that team is. Greene has a great program, and it was back and forth all night. We just need to develop some sense of consistency on both sides of the ball.”
Greene awaits its week nine opponent, while the state’s number one Class B team, Maine-Endwell entertains the Tornado this weekend in the first round of the Section IV playoffs. “We just need to regroup, head down to Maine-Endwell next week, and see if we can change the world,” Martinson said.
JV notes: Norwich junior varsity evened its record at 4-4 beating Greene, 52-27. Frank Garcia rushed for 361 yards and four touchdowns. Cameron Edwards, Dalen Geislinger, and Jacob Perrone added scoring runs. Kicker Brendon Budd connected on a 33-yard field goal and was 7-for-7 on extra points.
Score by Quarters
Greene 0 6 0 6–12
