NORWICH – When two evenly matched teams meet on the gridiron, the deciding factor is usually the club that executes better.

Owego was able to convert on offense in key situations, while also stymieing Norwich’s long possessions en route to a 20-6 road victory over the Purple Tornado on Friday night.

The victory for the River Hawks gives them a leg up on Norwich (2-3) in Section IV division play. Norwich will need to buckle down the rest of the way to extend the team’s recent history of playoff appearances.

“We’ve lost to three really good teams – Guilderland, Waverly, and Owego – that are highly ranked,” said Norwich coach Mike Chrystie. “We’re not that far off. It’s tough to realize that when you are two and three. We’re playing decent football. The things we need to do, we can control…we need to execute in those high stress situations.”
Owego took command in the second half scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

The first of which covered seven minutes of the third and fourth quarters. The 80-yard drive used 12 plays, and along the way, the River Hawks converted a key fourth down to extend the possession.

Dom Scherrer scored on a four-yard run extending Owego’s 7-6 halftime lead to 13-6.

Following a stop of Norwich’s offense, Owego extended the margin to 14 points with 3:56 left in the game.

Garrett Phelps scored on a five-yard run to create the two-TD margin.

Norwich had three drives into Owego territory in the second half. All three stalled out, and on two of those possessions, crushing penalties stemmed the momentum.

“I think we played well from the 20 to the 20 or the 30 to the 30,” Chrystie said. “Once we got down there, we weren’t as efficient (as Owego). That’s what it boiled down to. (Owego) was able to execute.”

Both clubs struck quickly on their respective opening drives of the game.

Dylan Brace broke a 65-yard run on Owego’s first possession that set up Brace’s four-yard TD run less than three minutes into the game.

Brace led all offensive performers with 147 yards rushing on 20 carries.

Norwich responded with its own touchdown with a time-consuming 16-play, 80-yard score. The longest play of the drive was a 15-yard first-down completion from Cooper Chrystie to Leland Montgomery.

Zack Parker capped the drive with a three-yard TD run. Parker finished with a team-high 92 rushing yards.

Norwich hosts Johnson City on Friday.

Score by Quarters

Owego  7  0  0  13—20

Norwi.   6  0  0   0—6

Scoring Summary

O, Dylan Brace 4 run (Brace kick); N, Zack Parker 3 run (PAT failed); O, Brace 4 run (kick failed); O, Garrett Phelps 5 run (Brace kick).

Individual Statistics

Rushing:  Owego team 41-271 yds. Norwich:  Zack Parker 25-92; Kasson Stubbs 2-5, Cooper Chrystie 1-3; Kaden Downey, 1-(-2).

Passing: Owego:  Garrett Phelps 2-4-0, 51 yds. Norwich:  Cooper Chrystie 11-23-0 104 yds; Josh Lindridge, 1-1-0 3 yds.

Receiving:  Owego; Mason Schneider 1-15, Dom Scherrer, 1-36. Norwich:  Carter Chrystie 3-37, Leland Montgomery 3-30, Kasson Stubbs 3-18, Zack Parker 1-14, Josh Lindridge 1-5, Other 1-3.