Football

Norwich 33, Windsor 6

WINDSOR – With only three division games, Norwich treated its division opener Friday night at Windsor as if it was a playoff game.

Winless through three weeks, Norwich advanced a step forward toward a sixth straight postseason berth blowing the Black Knights out.

Mike Oralls rushed for 164 yards and two second-half touchdowns, and sophomore quarterback Cole Rifanburg scored on a pair of first-half TD runs. Norwich (1-3) appears to have righted the ship as it crosses the midway point of the 2014 season.

“We talked about playing a complete game and finishing games, and Friday night we controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie. “Statistically, I think it proved that.”

As dominant as Norwich played – and it only allowed Windsor 127 yards of total offense – it was a one-score game in the first half. Norwich lost one fumble while it was driving, and a fumbled punt return led to Windsor’s only score to make it 13-6 at halftime.

Windsor had an opportunity to extend the momentum to start the second half, but disaster quickly struck the Black Knights. A bad snap sailed over quarterback Jake Conroy, and Norwich junior Nick Murphy picked up the ball for a 28-yard scoop-and-score.

“We wanted to come out in the second half, get a stop, and then get a score,” Chrystie said. “I guess you could say we did both of those things on one play. From that point, we dominated the game.”

Oralls scored on a nine-yard TD run late in the third quarter before capping the game with a 44-yard TD dash . With the 164-yard performance, Oralls moved over the 2,000-yard rushing mark for his career. That said, Oralls would surely give a shout out to the linemen blocking up front, Chrystie said.

“The guys on the offensive line carried us to victory, and if you asked any of our running backs, they would probably say the same thing,” Chrystie said. “We had some big plays out of the running game.”

Norwich leaves division play – and intrasectional play – for one week when it travels to Section III Chittenango on Friday.

Score by quarters

Nor. 7 6 13 7—33

Win. 0 6 0 0—6

Scoring Summary

First quarter

N: Cole Rifanburg 1 run (Zan Stewart kick)

Second quarter