The Norwalk football team clinched a district championship on Friday night, knocking off defending Class 4A state champ Lewis Central 21-7 in a game heard live on the KNIA3 stream.

The Warriors overcame an early 7-0 deficit using a bend-but-don’t break defense and big plays in all three phases of the game. The biggest play of them all was Eli Robbins’ 95-yard interception return TD with 1:18 left in the first half. The pick-six, which started with a tipped pass by Kolton Borcherding-Johnson, turned a potential halftime tie into a 21-7 Warrior lead that they would not relinquish.

Norwalk’s defense forced a pair of three-and-out stops to open the second half and later stripped the ball from a Titan receiver at the 2-yard line, leading to an out-of-bounds fumble in the end zone and a touchback for the Warriors. Norwalk made one final defensive stand before celebrating their fourth consecutive win.

Coach Paul Patterson’s team is now 5-3 overall and 4-0 in Class 4A, District 6. They have clinched the district title going into next week’s home game vs. Glenwood, and will host a first round playoff game on November 1. Patterson tells KNIA/KRLS Sports that the Warriors have shown tremendous growth since starting the season 1-3. He adds that the players fully believed they could beat a Lewis Central team that had defeated Norwalk handily in each of the last four seasons.

“This was a big win for our program,” Patterson said. “I’m really proud of our kids for buying into what it is that we talked about all week, coming out and executing and making plays, and man that’s one happy locker room that we’ve got right now… How many people would have predicted this after Week 4? I don’t think there would have been very many. It’s a huge testament to our kids and staying committed to what it is that we’re trying to do and continuing to grow, continuing to get better, continuing to improve. It just is a tremendous feeling and it’s absolutely fantastic.”

Lewis Central’s only touchdown drive of the night covered just 22 yards following a strip-sack of quarterback James Hatlevig on Norwalk’s first play from scrimmage. Hatlevig redeemed himself with first-half touchdown throws of 41 yards to Robbins and 68 yards to Brady Schmitz. Unofficially, Hatlevig finished the night with 187 passing yards while Dominic Tigner netted 62 hard-earned yards on the ground.