WINDSOR – Three rushing touchdowns in the first half helped Norwich rebound from their loss a week prior and grab the second spot in the Section IV Class B football playoffs.
Tornado Eric Conant rushed for three touchdowns and 125 yards to help lead his team past the host Black Knights of Windsor Friday, 35-14.
Norwich totaled 367 yards offensively with 284 yard coming on the ground with the balanced attack of Conant, Drew Walsh and David Berger.
In the air, the Purple’s quarterback Thomas Parrella connected with his receivers Michael Carson and Ty Rifanburg five times on his five attempts, throwing a 100-percent completion rate and 83 yards. Carson finished with two receptions for 48 yards while Rifanburg brought home three catches for 35 yards.
Norwich was looking for the rush game of Windsor’s Dante Kimbrough, who came into the game as the Black Knights leading rusher.
“We knew they wanted to get Kimbrough the ball as he is a load (6’2, 216lbs) to bring down,” said Norwich Head Coach Mike Chrystie. “ We thought if we could contain him, we would be in great position to have success defensively.”
And Norwich did contain him as Kimbrough ended the contest with 81yards on 17 carries.
The Purple were able to have such great success on the ground because of the front line. With Robert Shepard, Brennan Slater, Jahlil Jones, Keegan Wright and Scott Manwarren digging deep in the trenches, Norwch was able to control the line of scrimmage, allowing the ballcarries to rush for big yardage.
“We wanted to dominate up front and our five did a great job early of opening up holes,” said Chrystie.
Walsh pounded the ground for 101 yards on 12 carries while Berger ran for 51 yards on 5 carries in his third career varsity game. Walsh and Berger both scored touchdowns for Norwich in the first half to help with their 21 point lead before the half.
Norwich’s first few drives were stalled because of the competitive defensive strategy of Windsor. “We made a couple of adjusments after our first two series and we found a lot of success. They were very aggressive early and it caught us off guard on our first possession. Credit to our kids for adjusting on the fly and having success,” said Chrystie.
