Two 0-2 football teams squared off in Adel Friday evening as Norwalk traveled to take on ADM. An early Norwalk lead turned into a tie in the fourth, and it took two overtimes for the Tigers to knock off the Warriors by a 50-49 final score, which aired live on the KNIA3 stream.
Norwalk started the game firing out of the gate, holding leads of 13-0 and 23-7. ADM clawed their way back, and it was 29-21 Norwalk at the half.
The Warriors were held relatively in check for much of the second half while ADM scored twice in the half to tie the game at 36. Each team had a chance to win in regulation, but both opportunities were squandered by turnovers and other miscues.
Tied at 36, ADM got the ball first and scored on their first overtime possession for their first lead of the game. The first of two critical special teams errors occurred on the ensuing PAT try, when ADM’s kicker was roughed, and the 15-yard penalty was assessed on Norwalk’s overtime possession. With first and goal from the 25, the Warriors showed poise and tied the game on a Max Juergens to Chase McKinney pass.
It was tied at 43 at the beginning of the second overtime. Norwalk had possession first, and capped off their drive with another Juergens pass, this time to Nick Marker to take the lead. After that is when the second critical special teams error happened, when the extra point was blocked, making the score 49-43.
ADM was forced into a 4th and 6 with the game on the line in their possession. But Tigers quarterback Tate Stine-Smith rolled out to the right and turned the corner for the tying touchdown. The extra point was good, ending the game, and sending Norwalk home with their third loss of the year. Head Coach Paul Patterson says that his team needs to work on cleaning up the little things, which have led to close losses.
“We still have to eliminate our mistakes. We had a couple of big penalties. We had a couple of turnovers, the third turnover that we had, we’re putting a drive together and we’re giving ourselves a chance if we don’t throw the pick to maybe kick a long field goal to maybe get a touchdown out of it. And then we didn’t get many stops or get off the field. We had a fourth down and six on the final play, we have an extra point blocked. Little things like that, we’ve got to get better and sure up. We keep talking about it. At some point we have to see some results.”
Juergens led the way with five total touchdowns on the night. Norwalk falls to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in district play. Up next is the Week 4 contest at home against Perry. The Warriors will celebrate both Homecoming and Senior Night next week.