By JOHNATHAN SNYDER
HUNTINGTON — In the final game before the sectional draw on Sunday, the Norwell Knights (2-5, 2-3 NE8) were overpowered by the Huntington North Vikings (4-3 overall, 2-3 NE8) in a 49-10 loss.
A promising first drive saw Norwell return to the ground game of the past few years. A mixture of Adam Mahnensmith and Drew Graft runs combined with great pushes from the offensive line drove the Knights on an eight-play, 58-yard touchdown drive. Drew Graft’s 32-yard touchdown catch tied the game at seven after the Vikings scored on their first drive.
The game quickly turned as the Vikings’ passing game carved up Norwell’s secondary.
Vikings quarterback Tony Decker threw for 292 yards and four touchdowns while adding 130 rushing yards and an additional rushing touchdown. Decker’s versatility in using his legs to extend plays and pinpoint accuracy for multiple deep throws hurt the Knights. His primary target, Tatum Brooks, caught three of his touchdowns, all of which were over 45 yards, for a total of 142 yards receiving.
Vikings tight end Wyatt Shearer joined in the scoring as well with four catches for 130 yards and a touchdown.
“We saw on film that he (Brooks) was pretty athletic,” Norwell head coach Josh Gerber said. “He reminded us a little bit of Eli Riley when we had him and they used him in some of the same ways with the ability to scramble and the ability to run. They just did a real nice job of using him. He’s an athlete, they got him in space and we had a hard time bringing him down. Then he made some really good throws when he was on the run. He’s a very talented player and it showed tonight.”
Throughout the second quarter, it was all Vikings as the Knights’ defense had no answers for their versatility. Whether it was carries from Vikings runningback Marcus Linker or from Decker, the Vikings consistently gashed the Knights. Long passes complemented steady running as the Vikings put up 35 points in the first half alone.
Cayden Cassel returned to the starting quarterback role after an injury set him back for a few weeks. He played mistake-free football with no turnovers and 97 yards through the air. A couple of critical drops and a swarming defense prevented Cassel from getting too comfortable as the offensive line tired throughout the contest.
“The plan was that if he was able to play, we were going to play him,” Gerber said. “His reps were limited in practice but he did a good job of knocking the rust off and I thought he played pretty well. (He) made some nice throws, and a couple of good reads.”
A 27-yard field goal from Graft at the closing stages of the first half did little to soften the blow as the Knights went into halftime down 35-10. The Vikings then attacked with a three-play, 69-yard touchdown drive after forcing the Norwell offense to go three-and-out to start the second half. Defensively, the Knights could not hold the Vikings’ power, as every drive until the fourth quarter ended in a touchdown.
“Our inability to get off the field defensively, that was the big thing,” Gerber said. “We’ve got to focus up and do what we are coached to do. We felt like we had eight or nine guys doing what we coached them to do and we had a couple guys off on their own doing something they shouldn’t have been doing. We just weren’t disciplined in our assignments and that cost us.”
A Linker rushing touchdown with 3:26 left in the third quarter, his second and final touchdown of the night, pushed the game to a running clock. After the third, the backups came in and closed out the game with no scoring in the fourth. Adam Mahnensmith ended the game with 29 yards on 14 attempts along with two catches for 12 yards. Graft ended with two catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, mixing in 50 yards on five rushing attempts.
The Knights will be at home against Columbia City next Friday for Senior night. Columbia City holds a 7-1 overall record and currently sits in second place in the Northeast 8 Conference, defeating Leo in their last game, 21-18.
jonathan@news-banner.com
HUNTINGTON NORTH 49,
NORWELL 10
At Huntington North
Score By Quarters
Norwell 7 3 0 0 — 10
H. North 14 21 14 0 — 49
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
HN—Tony Decker 1-yard run (Von Sandersleben kick), 8:26.
N—Cayden Cassel 32-yard pass to Drew Graft (Graft kick), 4:55.
HN—Marcus Linker 2-yard run (Sandersleben kick), 1:36
Second Quarter
HN—Decker 69-yard pass to Wyatt Shearer (Sandersleben kick), 9:03.
HN—Decker 56-yard pass to Tatum Brooks (Sandersleben kick), 6:47.
HN—Decker 48-yard pass (Sandersleben kick), 4:54.
N—Graft 26-yard field goal, 1:23.
Third Quarter
HN—Decker 4-yard pass to Brooks (Sandersleben kick), 9:38.
HN—Linker 2-yard run (Sandersleben kick), 3:26
Fourth Quarter
No scoring.
Team Statistics
HN NOR
First Downs 20 9
Rushes-Yards 28-205 27-67
Yards Passing 292 104
Passing (C-A-I) 11-16-0 8-16-0
Penalties-Yards 7-83 8-80 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-0
Punts-Average 4-32 0-00
Time of Possession 18:52 20:12
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Norwell: Drew Graft 5-42, Adam Mahnensmith 13-39, Connor Fojtik 1-1, Titus Edwards 1-1, E.J. Morgan 2-(-8), Cayden Cassel 5-(-8). Huntington North: Tony Decker 9-130, Marcus Linker 11-48, C.J. Hemison 6-23, James Linker 1-3, Ethan Johnson 1-1.
Passing: Norwell: Cayden Cassel 7-15-0 97. E.J. Morgan 1-1-0 7. Huntington North: Tony Decker 11-16-0 292.
Receiving: Norwell: Drew Graft 3-81, Brady Smith 1-11, Connor Fojtik 1-7, Drew Jolley 1-5, Adam Mehnensmith 1-1, Garry Riley 1-(-1). Huntington North: Tatum Brooks 5-142, Wyatt Shearer 4-130, James Linker 1-11, Marcus Linker 1-9.
