Norwich hosted Sherburne-Earlville to open the 2022 season. (Photo by Morgan Golliver)

NORWICH – In non-league play, Norwich took on Chenango County neighbors, Sherburne-Earlville to kick off the 2022 football season. Norwich’s strong game plan on offense and defense sent the Marauders home with a devastating 69-0 loss.

After receiving the ball on the first drive of the game, Norwich had high hopes. Straight off the line of scrimmage, Quarterback Steven Dowdall put his trust in running back Holden Ryan who took it to the house for a 79 yard touchdown. Ryan would find the end zone two additional times, including a touchdown off an interception, and finished with six carries for 173 yards.

Ryan did share the scoring with fellow teammates Braden Hagenbuch, Gage Titsworth, Richard Fuller, Mason Edwards, and even Dowdall himself scored. Mitchell Collins also scored on a 30 yard pass with four minutes left in the first half.

Defensively, Norwich held Sherburne to just four yards of passing and 71 yards on the run game. They also recovered four fumbles to set up good field position.

On special teams, Norwich’s kicker Spencer Root was phenomenal. He made nine of 10 extra points, but missed a 46 yard field goal.

Sherburne saw a nice run game for Ethan Shaw with 13 carries for 102 yards, but it was negated by Norwich’s ability to stop the rest of the team to negative yardage (-50). Sherburne was able to set themselves up a few times deep in Norwich’s territory, but could not capitalize, including a drive with two minutes left in the first half.

While this game did not count toward divisional standings, it did give both teams a chance to prepare for other opponents to come. For Norwich, they are ready to welcome Westhill to Ulrich Field while Sherburne-Earlville will be on the road, taking on Little Falls.

Score by Quarters

S-E   0   0   0   0—0

NHS 35 14 14 6—69

Scoring summary

N, Holden Ryan 69 run (Spencer Root kick); N, Richard Fuller 52 run (Root kick); N, Steven Dowdall 30 pass to Mitchell Collins (Root kick); N, Ryan 5 run (Root kick); N, Dowdall 6 run (Root kick); N, Ryan 45 run (Root kick); N, Braden Hagenbuch 48 run (Root kick);  N, Ryan interception return (Root kick); N, Mason Edwards 2 run (Root kick); N, Gage Titsworth 61 run (kick failed)

Team Summary

First downs: N 15, S-E 7. Rushes-yds:  N 20-383; S-E 35-71. Passing: N 3-3-0, 50; S-E 4-7-1 4. Total Yards:  N 433, S-E 75. Punts-avg: N 0-0, S-E 5-44.6; Fumbles-lost: N 1-0, S-E 4-4. Penalties-yds:  N 3-25, S-E 6-30. Records: N 1-0; S-E 0-1.

Individual Statistics

Rushing: N, Ryan 6-173, Hagenbuch 4-70, Titsworth 1-61, Fuller 1-52, Quincy Carnachan 1-0, Nathan Murphy 1- (-1), Dowdall 2- (-6).  S-E, Ethan Shaw 13-102, Darren Miles 6-17; #16, 3-2, #64 1-0, Aydin Gunther 1-(-1), #17, 7-(-5), Cameron Mason 2-(-8), Team, 2-(-36).

Passing:  N, Dowdall 3-3-0, 50 yards, TD. S-E, Miles 4-7-1, 4 yards.

Receiving:  N, Mitchell Collins 1-30, Ryan 1-14, Edwards 1-6. S-E, Shaw 1-8, #11, 1-0, #17, 2-(-4).