You might say that the starting defense for this year’s Norwalk football team is like a family.
In the case of two linemen and one defensive back, that literally is the case.
Senior all-state defensive tackle Maddux Borcherding-Johnson is the anchor of the Warrior D. The future Iowa Hawkeye totaled 36.5 tackles last season, including 11 behind the line of scrimmage. Maddux will be joined on this year’s defensive line by sophomore Kolton Borcherding-Johnson. Kolton’s identical twin, Kadan, is expected to start in the secondary.
Norwalk head coach Paul Patterson is quick to acknowledge that having three brothers in one defensive huddle keeps things interesting in practice. Maddux Borcherding-Johnson checks in at 6’3”, 290 pounds and Kolton is 6’1”, 260. Kadan is listed at 6’2”, 165, but isn’t afraid to join in the verbal sparring with his larger siblings.
“Unfortunately there’s been more family fighting than there has been anything else that’s taken place so far in camp,” Patterson jokes, “so you can definitely tell they’re brothers. They flip it each way – all three of them. It’s a nice neat little triangle when it comes to the family affair thing.”
Coach Patterson calls Maddux Borcherding-Johnson a physical “specimen” and the center of the Norwalk defense. Maddux, who verbally committed to play football at Iowa more than a year ago, will draw a lot of attention from opposing defenses, which will only help his teammates make more tackles.
“When we went to Simpson team camp, that first play defensively of every scrimmage… Maddux made the tackle, and then from that point forward he got double-teamed,” Patterson said. “He’s going to face, at a bare minimum, two guys on most plays. He’s starting to understand that that’s what is going to happen and he’s starting to figure out ways that he can take that on.
“From a leadership side, he’s one of our squad leaders that we’ve got out of this senior class and he’s really grown a lot in that area as far as taking some of that ownership as to what he wants to pass on to the younger kids and help lead them through our program and hopefully have a positive impact and a lasting impression on that younger group.”
Additional players who have locked up starting spots or will see plenty of action for the Warriors’ 3-4 defense include: linemen Cole Johnson and Quillan McMurry; linebackers Braydon Ross, DJ Harris, Will Clark, Harrison Tripp and Tristen Tuttle; and defensive backs Kaden Tomkins, Isaac Sutcliffe and Chase Borchert.
Norwalk played in a scrimmage at Pleasant Valley Friday night and will open the season next Friday, August 26, at Pella.