The Norwalk football team turns the page to district play tonight with an important matchup at Winterset. The Class 4A District 6 opener is set for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff and can be heard live on the KNIA3 stream via kniakrls.com. Pregame coverage starts at 6:30.
The Warriors finished their non-district schedule at 1-3 following last week’s heartbreaking 35-34 overtime loss against ADM. Norwalk entered the fourth quarter with a 28-10 lead but was unable to hold on, plagued by 14 total penalties. On the bright side, junior quarterback James Hatlevig played his best game, completing 16-of-29 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions. Eli Robbins, who caught two of the TD passes, may see time at quarterback as well tonight after being limited to receiver duties last Friday.
Winterset is 3-1 overall with wins over Creston, Carlisle and Atlantic and a 31-9 loss to ADM in Week 2. Quarterback Hunter Lyon is completing 70 percent of his passes for the Huskies and has thrown for 640 yards. Hank Wilmes leads the rushing attack with 501 yards and five TDs. Norwalk head coach Paul Patterson is also impressed by Winterset tight end Jadyn Cooper and big-play wide receiver Wyatt Swanson.
Patterson tells KNIA Sports that the Warriors must be ready for numerous formations by the Winterset offense, including at least two variations of the wishbone. He adds that discipline will be one of the biggest keys to success tonight.
“I don’t know if I can emphasize it enough – we can’t win very many football games with 14 penalties. We have to be closer to mistake free,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure that our keys are read defensively, we’ve got to limit their opportunity for a big play. We need to make sure that we know where (Cooper) is, we’ve got to rally to the football when (Wilmes) is touching it, and we’ve got to make sure that (Swanson) can’t get loose behind us. And then we’ve got to prepare for some sort of trick play out of them to try to grab the momentum.”
Offensively, Norwalk will face a Winterset defense with six interceptions. The Huskies operate out of a 3-5 base and, according to Patterson, have a “bunch of guys who run to the football and show up angry.” Much like last week, Patterson says that taking what the defense gives them and showing patience will be key for the Warrior offense.
Norwalk cross country squads both place 3rd
The Norwalk girls and boys cross country teams both placed third in Thursday’s Cedar Rapids Kennedy Eastern Iowa Classic held at Seminole Valley Park.
The Warrior girls finished third out of six teams with a score of 82, paced by the freshmen tandem of Olive DeRocher and Gabby Drymon. DeRocher placed fourth with a five-kilometer time of 19:52. Drymon took fifth in 20:04. Two more freshmen – Grace Wetzeler and Khloe Scandrett – placed 20th and 26th, respectively, and senior Maya Butler was 34th.
The Class 4A fifth-ranked Norwalk boys finished third in an 11-team field, scoring an 85. Teegan Kralik led the team with a fifth-place time of 15:45. Grant Wallace placed 14th in 16:14, followed by Tony Anania in 21st, Henry Groos (22nd), Aksel Beedon (23rd) and Sam Parker (24th). All five runners finished within 13 seconds of each other.
Team champions on the day were the Linn-Mar girls and Iowa City High boys. The Norwalk JV girls also placed first as a team.
Norwalk’s next meet will be Saturday, October 5, at Wartburg College.