The Norwalk football team found itself in an early hole and was never able to recover on Friday night, falling to ADM 47-14 in a game heard live on KNIA3. Both teams finished non-district play with a record of 3-1.
Led by senior quarterback Aiden Flora, the Tigers ran wild on Homecoming night in Adel, scoring three first-quarter touchdowns, leading 27-0 at halftime and extending the margin to 40-0 midway through the third. Flora finished with 174 rushing yards, passed for 115 and had a hand in five ADM touchdowns – three passing and two rushing.
Tiger running back Cameron Forgy added 116 rushing yards and one TD in his first start replacing injured star Brevin Doll, and sophomore Hudson Shull opened the scoring with a 40-yard touchdown run on the game’s first series.
ADM’s defense was also dominant, pressuring and sacking Norwalk quarterback Aidan Harder throughout the night and covering the Warriors’ deep routes when Harder did have time to throw. The Warriors once again struggled to run the football as well.
Norwalk coach Paul Patterson tells KNIA-KRLS Sports that ADM deserves all the credit for controlling the game from both a physical and schematic standpoint. He is hopeful that the Warriors can learn from the mistakes of a non-district loss and become a more prepared and well-rounded team when Class 4A, District 6 play opens next Friday.
“We have things that we knew we needed to work on, and ADM did a fantastic job of exposing those,” Patterson said. “So we’re going to have to have some answers as we move forward because now the blueprint [on how to beat us] is set.”
Patterson added that Flora was even better in person than on film – a patient runner who waits for his running lane to open up and then hits it with authority.
Harder finished 16-for-37 through the air for 189 yards, one interception and a late 17-yard TD pass to Keilor Rodman. Eli Robbins scored on an 11-yard run for Norwalk and caught nine passes for 112 yards. Linebacker Will Clark led the Warriors with eight solo tackles and three assists.
The Warriors open district play at home against 2-2 Winterset on Friday at 7:00 p.m.