CONKLIN – Norwich’s defense, maligned the previous two weeks, buckled down at the most critical of junctures Saturday afternoon.
The Tornado stuffed a Susquehanna Valley fourth-and-goal in overtime, then proceeded to drive 20 yards for the winning touchdown in a 19-13 victory over the Sabers.
Mike Oralls broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and dashed nine yards to paydirt. He was overwhelmed by most of the Norwich team in the end zone as the Purple Tornado celebrated a Class B playoff-clinching win.
“I never imagined it would come down to this, but I could not be more proud of the way the guys came back from adversity and pulled out the victory,” said Norwich first-year varsity coach Mike Chrystie.
Norwich easily drove for a score on its first possession and built a 13-0 halftime advantage. The Sabers didn’t record their initial first down until the second quarter, and barely crossed into Tornado territory.
As non-threatening as the SV offense was in the first half, it was nearly unstoppable in the third quarter. Junior running back Lain Zembek rushed for 150 yards in the third quarter alone and 230 for the game. He ripped off runs of 56, 25, 17, 16, and 13 yards in the quarter. Zembek’s first big run – on the opening drive of the second half – brought the Sabers to the NHS 11. Two plays later, the host club fumbled the ball away at the Norwich three.
Perhaps fate intervened as Norwich fumbled the ball right back on the next play. Zembek scored immediately from one yard out to carve into Norwich’s lead. Following a Norwich punt, Sus Valley marched 81 yards on nine plays with Zembek accounting for all 81 yards, the last 13 for the tying touchdown.
“Maybe we were resting on our laurels and underestimated them a bit,” Chrystie said of the third-quarter turnaround. “Defensively, it seemed like an alignment issue more than anything else. Once we had guys in the right place, we were much more successful.”
The adjustment seemed to work as Sus Valley did not record another first down in regulation, and had to ward off a late Norwich drive to preserve the tie game. Norwich drove from its 20 to the Sabers’ 35 with three straight first downs, but with just over a minute remaining, the drive stalled to force a punt.
Once in overtime, Susquehanna Valley appeared headed for the go-ahead touchdown as Zembek ran for 11 yards and a first down on the first play of OT. From there, Norwich’s defense barely bent, and SV quarterback Dave Matthews’ fourth-down scramble ended about five feet short of the goal line.
Norwich didn’t completely escape adversity before scoring the winning points. A second-down motion penalty put the Tornado in a second-and-long. After a short Oralls run, speedy senior running back Keagan Franklin dashed around the left side for a nine-yard first-down gain that preceded Oralls’ winning jaunt. “Mike scored the winning touchdown, but we believe in the team concept – offense, defense, and special teams – and Mike wouldn’t have done that without the other guys on the team,” Chrystie said.
It took Norwich just over 2 1/2 minutes to drive 66 yards for its first score. Quarterback Mike Sutton lopped off big yardage on option keepers, and Oralls burst up the middle for 20 yards and the opening TD. Oralls, Chenango County’s leading rusher entering the game, finished with 26 carries for 117 yards.
The Tornado used nearly half of the second quarter to march for its second score. Sutton connected for a pair of first-down passes to Jaden MacRabie totaling 40 yards, and Franklin had another 17-yard run – one reminiscent of his big first-down run in overtime – that set up Sutton’s one-yard scoring plunge. Sutton added 67 yards on the ground, and Norwich rushed for 251 yards in the game.
Norwich (4-3) plays at Johnson City Friday at 7 p.m. The winner of that game will earn the number two seed in the Section IV Class B playoffs and host a first-round playoff game.
Score by quarters OT
NHS 6 7 0 0 6––19
S.Va. 0 0 13 0 0––13
Scoring Summary
First quarter
N: Mike Oralls 20 run (kick blocked)
