Norwalk’s quest for an unbeaten non-district portion of the football schedule heads to Adel tonight as the 3-0 Warriors take on 2-1 ADM at 7:00 p.m. The game will be streamed live on kniakrls.com (KNIA3), with pregame coverage starting at 6:30.
Norwalk overcame their toughest test of the young season last week at Newton, rallying back from deficits of 7-0 and 15-7 and out-scoring the Cardinals 22-0 in the fourth quarter to win 32-15. Head coach Paul Patterson tells KNIA-KRLS Sports that he is proud of the Warriors’ resilience so far and excited to be 3-0, noting that the players are gaining more confidence with each victory.
Norwalk faces another stern test at ADM, which returns plenty of talent from last year’s Class 3A state semifinalist. The Tigers lost a 38-31 slugfest against Lewis Central last Friday as senior running back and University of Iowa recruit Brevin Doll suffered a season-ending arm injury in the first half. Patterson points out that the Tigers still possess a dynamic running threat in senior quarterback Aiden Flora, who rushed for 334 yards and three scores in last week’s defeat.
“There is a lot of talent and they bring a lot of those kids back from last year,” Patterson said. “And even though Doll isn’t there, Aiden Flora is… and he’s a touchdown waiting to happen. Any time you miss a tackle on him, it’s six.”
Tonight’s Aiden Flora vs. Aidan Harder quarterback matchup will be fun to watch. Flora averages 12.2 yards per carry, totaling 696 rushing yards and 10 TDs in three games while also passing for 424 yards. Harder has been outstanding for Norwalk, racking up 1,030 passing yards and 10 touchdowns in his first three varsity starts. Eli Robbins and Keilor Rodman have combined for 796 receiving yards and eight TDs.
Patterson says that sound tackling and a ball-control offense will be two big keys for the Warriors. Owen Siemens has been added to the offensive line mix for more depth and Patterson is hopeful that some formational changes and other tweaks will help jump start the team’s rushing attack so they can sustain longer drives and keep Flora off the field.
Norwalk boys golfers 4th at Marshalltown
The Warrior boys golfers placed fourth out of 13 teams at Thursday’s Joe August Invite in Marshalltown. Norwalk shot a team score of 317, finishing 12 strokes behind team champion Marshalltown.
The Warriors were led by Tillman Papcun’s round of 76 for sixth place and Mason Johnson’s 79 for 12th overall. The team’s next meet is Monday’s Valley Golf Classic at Willow Creek in Des Moines.