For the Norwalk football team, tonight’s Week 9 formula is simple.
Defeat 7th-ranked Bondurant-Farrar and the Warriors will likely earn a spot in the Class 4A playoffs. Lose… and the season is almost certainly over. Varsity kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. as the Warriors host the Bluejays and try to keep their season alive.
Norwalk, which lost at District 5 champion Carlisle 49-28 last Friday, enters the game with a 5-3 overall record, the number 16 RPI ranking in Class 4A and a 2-2 district record that ties them for third place with Indianola. Bondurant-Farrar is 7-1 overall, number 6 in the RPI and 3-1 in the district, needing a win to lock up second place outright and an automatic playoff berth.
If the Warriors are to make the playoffs, it will likely be as one of four at-large teams based on RPI. A victory Friday, coupled with a highly-unlikely Indianola loss at Boone, is the Warriors’ only path to an automatic postseason bid.
Norwalk coach Paul Patterson says his players know their “backs are against the wall” and he expects them to be locked in and ready to go.
“This is a do-or-die situation in terms of our season and being able to continue to grow and be able to play, so we know what’s on the line and hopefully we come out and play well.
“We know that if we win, we’ve got a really, really good chance to be in, and if we don’t it’s over, so I think that has helped us stay locked in to what it is that we need to get done this week for Bondurant.”
Defensively, the Warriors must limit the Bluejays’ big plays and rally to the football to slow down standout running back Titus Cram. The Bondurant-Farrar junior averages 6.8 yards per carry and has totaled 1,075 yards and 14 touchdowns. Caleb Moore is also a threat with 498 rushing yards, 8.6 yards per carry and six TDs.
The Bluejays, though, are not one-dimensional. Quarterback Colby Collison threw for 241 yards against Indianola last week and has 1,501 passing yards on the year, totaling 15 TD passes and just one interception.
Offensively, Norwalk is always a threat to break the big play, but must execute better inside the red zone to maximize its potential tonight.
Warrior senior quarterback Landon Hochstein has passed for 1,930 yards and added 592 on the ground, and his 31 total touchdowns (22 passing, 9 rushing) rank first in 4A. Senior receiver Dillon Ranck, who had a career game at Carlisle with 219 receiving yards and four touchdowns, leads Norwalk with 47 catches for 810 yards and 12 TDs. Braeden Carlson adds 45 receptions for 602 yards and six TDs.
Linebacker Will Clark leads the Warrior defense with 53.5 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks, and Kaden Tomkins has four fumble recoveries and one interception. For Bondurant-Farrar, John Powers has racked up 69 total tackles, 22 TFLs, five sacks and two fumble recoveries.
Tonight’s game can be heard live on kniakrls.com (KNIA3), with pregame coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. The game is also available on the Norwalk Warrior Productions YouTube channel.