Norwich 42, Ithaca 12

NORWICH – Norwich finished the 2007 season the same way it started matching its season-high point total of week one in a rout of Ithaca Friday at Ulrich Field.

Norwich (6-3) did not complete a pass its last two games, and it wasn’t needed as the ground attack was hitting on all cylinders. Coming off a 378-yard effort against Windsor, the Purple Tornado finished the season on a three-game winning streak – two of those shutouts – posting a 372-yard rushing total against the struggling Little Red (1-8).

Chris Mattingly, who has served as the workhorse back three years running, completed his best season eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark. Mattingly did so on his final series in a Purple Tornado uniform. After a couple of nice gains, Mattingly barreled into the line of scrimmage, and like he has shown a knack for his entire career, squirted out of a pack of defenders and offensive linemen with a burst of speed racing for a 31-yard TD to end the game’s scoring late in the third quarter.

Mattingly had a career-high 218 yards in the game to finish with 1,067, and set the tone early with a big first-down run on the opening drive of the game. That set up Jesse Prosser’s 21-yard TD run into the left corner in which he dove across the goal.