Purple Tornado junior Griffin Mills jets down field during Norwich’s first possession of the game. Mills’ big gain set up a Tornado touchdown in the early minutes of the first quarter but Norwich fell to Indian River 53-27 at the Dome. (Tracey Vinal photo)

SYRACUSE ­– Taking in the biggest football setting for high school football in New York State, the Norwich Purple Tornado played the first game of the 2019 season at the Dome in Syracuse, New York in a Saturday edition of Friday night lights.

Going up against Section III Class A Indian River, Norwich hung in the contest through half time but the Warriors took over in the third quarter, where they secured the 53-27 win.

The Tornado’s quarterback Griffin Mills led the Norwich offense, despite the loss, as he compiled over 200 yards both on the ground and through the air, earning the team’s Most Valuable Player award for the game.

Mills, in his first game starting under the center, threw for two touchdowns and 155 yards on 13 completions in 24 attempts. On the ground, the junior quarterback ran took 12 carries for 116 yards and two scores.

“Griffin had a great game,” said head coach Mike Chrystie. “We have great play makers in Eli [Rodriguez, JT [Vinal], Carson [Maynard], and Cameron [Byrne] and he did a tremendous job of reading the defense and getting them the ball. He also made some impressive plays with his feet. We will need him to continue to be a dual threat QB for us.”