The Class 4A, District 6 championship is on the line tonight when the Norwalk football team ventures to Council Bluffs for a clash with the Lewis Central Titans at 7:00 p.m. The game will be streamed live on kniakrls.com (KNIA3), beginning with pregame coverage at 6:30.
The Warriors are 4-3 overall and 3-0 in District 6. They have outscored Dallas Center-Grimes and Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson by a combined 83-0 the last two weeks. Norwalk is ranked 11th in Class 4A by BCMoore and is 17th in the state’s RPI. Lewis Central is 7-0 overall and 3-0 in district play after erasing a 17-point second-half deficit at Winterset last Friday to win 28-24. The defending 4A state champion Titans are ranked No. 3 by BCMoore and are No. 4 in RPI.
Tonight’s winner clinches the District 6 title with one week left in the regular season and is also guaranteed a first round home playoff game. Norwalk head coach Paul Patterson tells KNIA/KRLS Sports that his team has a tremendous opportunity in front of them.
“This is part of the reason why you sign up to play football… is an opportunity to be district champs,” Patterson said. “Here at Norwalk… we’ve played in several district championship games but we have not been district champs that often. So this is big for us in terms of not only solidifying what we’ve done to improve as a football team, but also putting us in a position to possibly host a [playoff] game. All these things are on the line and we need to come out and play well.”
The Warriors have lost to LC in each of the last four years, with the closest margin a 49-27 defeat in 2022. The common denominator in those games has been Norwalk turnovers; 19 total in the form of 13 interceptions and six lost fumbles. Patterson says that the biggest keys for the Warriors tonight will be taking care of the football, playing four quarters of physical football with a true belief they can win, and individual preparation to the fullest as far as eating and sleeping right, drinking lots of water and film study.
Norwalk quarterback James Hatlevig will look to build off back-to-back outstanding games in which he has thrown for 458 yards and seven touchdowns with just one interception. Five of those TD tosses have gone to standout receiver Eli Robbins.
Lewis Central is led by veteran quarterback Brady Hetzel, who has passed for 1,578 yards and 17 touchdowns on the year, intercepted four times. The Titans feature a running game by committee, led by Chance Chappell’s 10 scores. LC has 19 takeaways defensively and Patterson adds that the Titans put constant pressure on the opposition using their schemes and athleticism in all phases of the game.