Congratulations to the Norwich Purple Tornado football team on a good 2024 season; best of luck to the seniors. (Photo by Morgan Golliver)

OWEGO – Norwich was on its heels from the first offensive play of the game. Coupled with an unfortunate amalgamation of untimely execution and miscues, the Purple Tornado saw their football season end Friday night at Owego.

The River Hawks built a two-score lead midway through the first quarter, and answered Norwich’s brief stint of momentum to pick up a 34-14 victory in the semifinals of the Section IV Class B playoffs.

It was the second win for Owego (8-1), who beat Norwich (6-4) 28-6 in the regular season.

“We shot ourselves in the foot over and over again,” said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie. “We had controllable mistakes, that for the most part, we’ve been good with all year. To couple those negative plays in a big game was disheartening.”

At the outset, it wasn’t a mistake but merely a big shot in the gut from Owego that led to an early lead.

Following a Norwich penalty on the first series of the game, Owego quarterback Dalton Malmstrom connected with receiver Caleb Cole on a short pass. That seemingly innocuous connection led to a prolific catch-and-run that yielded a 42-yard gain to the Norwich 12.

Two plays later, the River Hawks’ Dylan Brace scored the first of his two scores from seven yards out.

Two possessions later, Owego moved the ball into Norwich territory, but the Purple Tornado stopped a fourth-and-one situation.