By Patrick Newell

Sun Sports Editor

pnewell@evesun.com

NORWICH – Last season, it took Norwich and head coach John Martinson four games before it tasted the success of victory. After Friday night’s battle in the trenches with Whitney Point, Martinson was gently reminded that not only did his team win, but it won by a shutout.

“Whether it’s 42 to nothing or six to nothing, a win’s a win,” Martinson said after his team did pick up the 6-0 victory. “A shutout is a great way to start.”

Norwich had to suffer through some anxious moments in the waning stages of the fourth quarter. The Tornado failed on their opportunity to put the game away on the penultimate possession of the contest. Josh Favaloro launched Norwich to the Whitney Point 17 when he leapt and pulled in a 20-yard first-down pass from Seth Thomsen.

Mackay Hotaling was subsequently pushed back for a two-yard loss, Norwich committed a 10-yard holding penalty, and three plays later, a Thomsen pass fell incomplete.

Whitney Point quarterback Andrew Singer drove his team from the 25 to the Norwich 41 with under a minute to play. Singer extended the drive with a 15-yard first-down scramble, and he hit Cody Wood for eight yards on a fourth-and-eight to the NHS 41.