By RYAN WALKER
Offense, defense, and special teams were all on point to help Norwell get a 42-0 win at home over Northeast 8 Conference foe Bellmont.
A season that has seen just about everything go wrong for the Knights with three straight losses to begin the year and a plethora of injuries. All head coach Josh Gerber could do was smile in relief after the win.
“You know what, It’s always nice,” Gerber said after the game. “I’m just so happy for some of our kids.”
The Knights, now 1-3 on the season and 1-2 in NE8 play, had a good chance to get their first win of the season, considering Bellmont hasn’t won a game since November of 2021. In fact, the Braves haven’t scored a single point this season in four of their games.
But Norwell didn’t have a hiccup all game, outgaining Bellmont 340-88 in total yardage, and the Braves couldn’t move the chains either, having just four first downs. The Knights also forced three turnovers and dominated time of possession by over 13 minutes of gameplay.
All of that, including the Knights’ having a third-string quarterback behind center, their top running back injured, and its star kicker sidelined with an injury.
The defense would set up quarterback Cayden Cassel’s offense with good field position for its six scores, not missing a beat on either end of the ball. He lit up the Braves for 10 completions on 13 attempts for 192 yards and four touchdown passes.
Cohen Bailey reeled in three catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns, while birthday boy Trace Moser hauled in two of his own for 67 yards.
The sophomore quarterback has seemingly slid into his role with more comfortability after being thrown into the fire during week two’s game against Delta. The original starting quarterback, Drew Graft, sprained an ankle in the game, and backup Alex Fojtik was already out with a more significant injury at the time. That would call on Cassel to step in during an unprecedented time as a young, inexperienced thrower.
Gerber and the Knights have embraced what this season has given them, gathering around him and doing their best to help him succeed.
“Cayden’s been awesome,” Gerber said. “It’s just outstanding to see him grow and play with so much confidence. It’s been awesome. I’m so happy for that kid, and I love the fact that the guys around him have worked to kind of elevate him too. It’s been really, really neat to see.”
After a quick touchdown to begin the second half, Bellmont gave away the ball during a kickoff that plopped at the 24-yard line. The Knights sped down the field and dove on the ball, and scored a few plays later. By the 7:56 mark, there was a running clock.
On special teams, senior Austin De Leon didn’t play due to an injury. New replacement kicker Brady Smith went 6/6 on extra points to put the cherry on top for a well-executed night of football.
“Really good on all three phases,” Gerber said. “Defensively, we played complementary football, and that’s what you want to see. Defense would stop them, or defense would turn them over. We’d have that short field to work with. It was really nice on offense to have that short field, and it was just really good to see all three phases do well and to come away with a really nice win.”
Gerber shared that Graft is progressing, as well as kicker De Leon. He hopes to have them back soon, but he isn’t going to play them until they’re fully healthy.
Running back Timothy Bonjour has also been battling injuries and carried the ball nine times for 23 yards but left the game with another injury. There is no timetable for his return yet.
Norwell will be at New Haven next week. The Bulldogs are 4-0 on the season and just beat Leo 42-41 in overtime in week three.
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NORWELL 42, BELLMONT 0
At Norwell High School
Score By Quarters
Bellmont 0 0 0 0 – 0
Norwell 7 14 21 0 – 42
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
N—Trey Bodenheimer 1-yard run (Brady Smith kick), 3:47.
Second Quarter
N—Cayden Cassel 61-yard pass to Cohen Bailey (Smith kick), 5:37.
N—Cassel 17-yard pass to Bailey (Smith kick), 1:54.
Third Quarter
N—Cassel 17-yard pass to Trace Moser (Smith kick), 8:15.
N—Cassel 9-yard pass to Moser (Smith kick), 7:56.
N—Quentauris Jones 4-yard run (Smith kick), 1:54.
Fourth Quarter
No scoring.
Team Statistics
BEL NOR
First Downs 4 17
Rushes-Yards 26-79 45-148
Yards Passing 9 192
Passing (Att-Com-Int)1-6-0 10-13-0
Penalties-Yards 4-46 4-30
Fumbles-Lost 3-3 2-2
Punts-Average 2-30 0-0
Time of Possession 15:21 28:58
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Bellmont: Aiden Miller 11-45, Dylan Velez 9-26, Christian Hatch 4-14, Will Kintz 1-0, Will Franze 1-(-6). Norwell: Trey Bodenheimer 19-101, Quentauris Jones 6-30, Timothy Bonjour 9-23, Trey Privett 2-5, Collin Burns 1-5, Drew Jollu 2-(-3), Cayden Cassel 4-(-13).
Passing: Bellmont: Will Franze 1-6-0 9. Norwell: Cayden Cassel 10-13-0 192.
Receiving: Bellmont Job Hoffman 1-9. Norwell: Cohen Bailey 3-86, Trace Moser 5-67, Trey Bodenheimer 1-27, Brady Smith 1-12.
