Football

Owego 20, Norwich 12

OWEGO – Norwich's hopes at a sixth straight playoff appearance did not take a hit Friday, but its confidence possibly did.

The Tornado offense was blanked over the final two quarters Friday night as Owego avenged last year's defeat to NHS.

Stavlon Canavan ran for a three-yard touchdown with three minutes left in the second quarter to push the Indians in front for good, 14-12.

The Indians added an insurance score in the fourth when C.J. Bergmann punched through the Norwich defense from one yard out.

Not only was Norwich held off the scoreboard in the second half, the offense was barely seen on the field as Owego dominated the time of possession. "It was some ridiculous time of possession advantage for them," said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie.

Chrystie said his team simply struggled to sustain drives. "We didn't have a lot of three-and-outs, but there were a lot of four- and five-play drives. We couldn't sustain anything, and credit goes to Owego. They clogged up the middle, and our guys just need to do a better job of executing to free people up."

Norwich senior running back Mike Oralls and the NHS offensive line seemed to have a handle on the Owego defense early on. Oralls scored on a two-yard run in the first quarter, and Oralls’ second TD run, a 15-yard jaunt, gave Norwich a 12-7 lead.