An unforgettable start to the Norwich football season

Most football games I cover fall into the forgettable category. It’s not out of disinterest in the teams, but due to the lack of excitement and the inequity of the two clubs. The competitive balance will swing heavily in one team’s favor, and there is typically no drama or suspense in the fourth quarter. Friday night’s season-opener at Norwich was not one of the games, and will likely end up as one of the more unforgettable contests. I get perhaps one or two of these games a year, and I can only hope I did not use up my quota.

Norwich was entertaining an Owego team that had three straight postseason appearances. It was a worthy adversary for the Tornado’s opening game, and the home club never led in the game until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. As local fans now know, Norwich eked out a thrilling 18-14 comeback victory.

Let’s be real here: Norwich’s ball-control, running offense is not geared toward come-from-behind wins. It’s predicated on chewing up the clock with physical running and blocking. There is the occasional pass play that catches the opposition unaware, and it was the well-timed pass play called by Norwich coach John Pluta that ultimately made the difference.

Usually, one enters a game knowing which team is the favorite. Friday, I had no such notions, and only gave the Purple Tornado a slight edge based on home-field advantage. In the course of any game, it is usually easy to determine which team appears the more powerful. Through two quarters, I saw no discernible differences.

Owego had a better passing game, Norwich – as expected – the better running game. Neither club asserted those strengths in any sort of dominant fashion. The spread on the scoreboard was a direct result of a costly special teams error by NHS, and that gave Owego the eight-point advantage.

It was back to basics on offense that swung the momentum, Pluta later said. “We tried running our offense out of different formations, and we had some timing issues,” he said. “That was my fault.”