NORWICH – The juniors took center stage early, but it was the Norwich seniors – appropriately on senior recognition night – who stood in the limelight for the final act in what was an encore-worthy performance Friday evening against Oneonta.

Junior Grant Brightman rushed for a career-high 152 yards and Norwich’s opening touchdown, senior Seth Thomsen contributed two TD runs and a fourth-quarter TD pass to fellow senior Patrick Taylor, and the Tornado defense picked off four passes in a 34-16 win over the Yellowjackets.

The win moves Norwich to within another victory of a Section IV Division III title, and it was the ninth triumph in 10 division games under third-year head coach John Martinson.

“After (losing) the Sidney game, we made some changes, and they were great changes,” Martinson said. “This is what you want; you want your team peaking.”

Norwich’s offense failed to put any points on the board in the opening quarter, while Oneonta’s no-huddle attack used the passing game to drive for the opening points, a 20-yard Matt Robinson field goal.