Norsemen Bounce Back with a Statement Win

By Cael F.

Each fall when the Roland-Story Norsemen and the South Hamilton Hawks face off you can feel the excitement in the air for this small-town rivalry game. However, Friday night was different, the air was heavy and it was more than a football game after the death of a recent South Hamilton graduate. 

Before the game, there was a moment of silence for reflection and remembrance, and after the South Hamilton victory bell was rung six times it was time for kickoff. 

From the first kickoff, it was all Norsemen. The Norsemen 61-yard opening drive was capped off after a 1-yard rush from senior quarterback Sam Knoll. They would continue to use their dominant rushing backfield to continue the scoring. With 9 different players receiving carries, the Norsemen would combine for 250 yards on 29 for 6 touchdowns. This rushing attack was headlined by Norsemen sophomore Ben Mazyck who would find the endzone 3 times while also rushing for 113 yards. Sophomore Logan Smith and senior Brady Lettow would each find the endzone as well. 

The Norsemen were also explosive in the air, with a limited 5 passing attempts from senior Quarterback Sam Knoll. Knoll completed three of his five passes for 99 yards. His longest pass came on the opening play of their second offensive drive, a 57-yard completion to sophomore wideout Luke Thoreson. Senior Swiss Army knife Heston Mcllrath had 42 yards on two receptions.

The Norsemen continued to show how truly dominant their defense is by holding the strong South Hamilton rushing attack of Nick Severseike and Kolby Hodnefield to a combined 46 rushing yards. The Norsemen were led defensively by their pair of junior safeties Blake Larson with 5.5 tackles and 2.0 tackles for a loss, and Cody Long added his own 6.0 tackles. As well linebacker Carter Barber and edge rusher Roland Yates both had 5.0 plus tackles in route of holding the Hawk offense scoreless to give the Norsemen a 56-0 victory.

The Norsemen begin their district play this week after a short road trip west to face off with the ranked Knights of Kuemper Catholic, while the Hawks continue to search for their first win next week as they host West Central Valley.

Location: Jewell, IA 50130, USA

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