Norwich’s Steven Dowdall hands the ball off to Braden Hagenbuch (#9). Hagenbuch ran for 10 carries for 116 yards and scored two touchdowns. (Photo by Morgan Golliver)

NORWICH – The Norwich Purple Tornado football team played their 2024 home opener against Sus Valley, where they snapped a two-game skid with a big 45-7 win.

“It was a historic game for this group,” Norwich head coach Mike Chrystie said. “It was the first varsity football home game on the new turf, where we took care of business.”

Norwich put pressure on Sus Valley early on and the Sabers were forced to punt the ball in their first five possessions while also picking up two interceptions, which put the Purple Tornado offense in good scoring position. Leland Montgomery and Kassen Stubb came away with interceptions.

Norwich scored on seven consecutive drives with two rushing touchdowns each from Braden Hagenbuch and Tiernan Lindsay, touchdowns from Steven Dowdall, Zack Parker, and Mitchell Collins had a big kickoff return for 98 yards to start the second half.

Hagenbuch finished with 10 carries for 116 yards while Parker received the ball three times for 105 yards.

“We went back to the fundamentals and understood our assignments, which led to a successful night,” Chrystie said. “It was a great team effort with everyone playing extremely well and it was nice to give everyone significant playing time.”