It’s Homecoming in Norwalk tonight, and the Warrior football team is looking to get back to the basics when they host Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson at 7:00 p.m. The Class 4A, District 6 contest will be streamed live on kniakrls.com (KNIA3), with pregame coverage starting at 6:30.
Norwalk had a rough night offensively in last Friday’s 17-7 loss at Dallas Center-Grimes, turning the ball over six times and falling to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in district play. The Yellow Jackets, who are 3-3 overall, lost 63-13 against city rival Lewis Central on the heels of a 35-0 defeat vs. DC-G in the district opener.
Norwalk coach Paul Patterson blames himself for last week’s confusion and lack of confidence offensively. Patterson tells KNIA-KRLS Sports that the Warriors’ focus this week has centered on playing with confidence, getting back to the things that they do well and caring less about how the opposition is trying to stop them.
“Getting back to all the things that we did the first couple weeks of the season, and just let our kids go out and be really comfortable and confident and then take care of business and execute,” Patterson said.
“This is one of the weeks that it’s even more important for us to be us than it is for us to get caught up in all the things that are happening. How good or how bad is Thomas Jefferson? Those things don’t matter. What matters is how well we can come out and execute what it is that we need to do in order for our guys to be at their best.”
Patterson calls Thomas Jefferson an incredibly athletic team that is solid at the skill positions and has some size on the interior. The Yellow Jackets have been opportunistic on defense with nine interceptions and 11 total takeaways. Offensively, they have passed for 771 yards and rushed for 375, though they were held to a net of minus-32 rushing against LC.
The Warriors should benefit from having a healthier version of senior quarterback Aidan Harder tonight. Harder played on a bruised and sore leg at DC-G and was intercepted four times. Patterson reports that Harder was starting to look like himself at Wednesday’s practice, fully pushing off his back leg again and throwing with increased velocity. Patterson is also planning for a more balanced mix in the running game with Dominic Tigner and Isaac Sutcliffe handling most of the carries.
Norwalk harriers compete at Fort Dodge
Led by three runners in the top 30, the Norwalk boys cross country team placed fifth out of 29 squads in Thursday’s Fort Dodge Invitational at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course. The Class 4A 11th-ranked Warriors matched Waukee Northwest for the fourth-best score of 171, but placed fifth on the tiebreaker of each team’s sixth finisher. The Norwalk girls placed 20th with a score of 576.
Norwalk’s top three runners were senior Noah Buhrow in 12th place out of 240 individuals, junior Tony Anania in 13th place and sophomore Teegan Kralik in 30th. Buhrow, who is ranked 10th in Class 4A, clocked a five-kilometer time of 15:49 and Anania finished in 15:55. Grant Wallace and Sam Parker placed 60th and 63rd, respectively.
The Warrior girls’ top five runners were Maya Butler, Pearl Brown, Anita Scholten, Morgan Swartzlander and Lhotse Samuelson, who all placed between 106th and 151st. Butler finished in 21:01 and Brown was five seconds behind.
Team champions on the day were the Dowling Catholic boys and Johnston girls.
Norwalk’s next competition is the Little Hawkeye Conference Meet on Monday at Indianola’s Pickard Park.