It was a cold October night when Norwalk visited Carlisle for Week 8 of the 2022 football season. Jackets won’t be necessary when the same teams meet on the same field tonight for the opening kickoff of 2023.
The Warriors and Wildcats begin non-district play at 7:30 p.m. in Carlisle. The game will be streamed live on kniakrls.com (KNIA3), with pregame coverage starting at approximately 6:30.
Carlisle, which won last year’s matchup 49-28 and later reached the state semifinals, begins the season listed fourth in BCMoore’s Class 4A preseason rankings. Norwalk, which finished 5-4 a year ago, is ranked 11th.
As is often the case in Week 1, one of tonight’s big story lines will be the heat as both squads are expected to start at least five players on both offense and defense. Players have practiced in extreme heat and humidity throughout the week, and Norwalk coach Paul Patterson says that hydration, nutrition and rest have been greatly emphasized, along with frequent breaks. Patterson tells KNIA-KRLS Sports that players recognizing when they need a break and calling for a sub will be a big factor in tonight’s performance. Player rotations have been mapped out to deal with the uncertainty from play to play and drive to drive.
“That is a huge piece of how the game is going to go is where are we subbing and how are we getting those kids breaks… and then how are we able to get them water that they need,” said Patterson.
As for the game itself, both teams graduated a slew of skill-position talent from last year, but appear to have reloaded. Both sides are also big up front on each side of the ball. Patterson says that the Warriors must stay disciplined on defense facing Carlisle’s vaunted option attack, each player staying locked on their job. Limiting the Wildcats big plays and making them sustain long drives will be key.
Tonight marks the first varsity start at quarterback for Norwalk senior Aidan Harder. Patterson calls Harder a great leader and a sound distributor of the football, adding that it will be fun to watch him grow and improve each week. Receiver Keilor Rodman and running back Dominic Tigner are returning starters on offense for the Warriors, along with linemen Zach Sexton and Carter Eden.
Patterson adds that taking care of the football and avoiding turnovers and costly penalties will allow the Warriors to sustain drives and put points on the board.
Norwalk volleyball team goes 2-1 at SE Polk
The Norwalk volleyball team won two out of three matches at Thursday’s Southeast Polk Quad, improving to 3-1 on the season.
The Class 4A fifth-ranked Warriors easily won their first two games, defeating the host Rams 25-22, 25-7, then sweeping two sets from Des Moines Lincoln 25-8, 25-10. The Warriors took set one vs. Indianola 25-18 before the 4A second-ranked Indians responded with wins of 25-17, 15-12 to take the match.
Norwalk coach John Fulton says that the Warriors played well all night and showcased more good passing from the back row. Fulton tells KNIA-KRLS Sports that Indianola is a tough team and was able to capitalize on nearly every Warrior mistake. He expects a fun night when Norwalk hosts the Indians September 5 in their best-of-five Little Hawkeye Conference showdown.
Norwalk served 53-for-54 in the Southeast Polk game and was led by Ava Johnson’s eight kills and five each from Noelle Sutcliffe, Ava McKay and Addie Fisher. Sutcliffe spiked a team-high six kills vs. Lincoln and 13 against Indianola. Liz Iverson set 19 assists in the first match of the night and had 22 vs. Indianola.
The Warriors will face more highly-ranked teams in Saturday’s Ankeny Centennial Tournament at 9:00 a.m.