Bluejays Dominate Indians
Several Drives End Short of Paydirt
On Friday, October 2nd, the Norton Bluejays easily defeated the St. Francis Indians in high school football. Norton used a strong running game and some excellent passing to move the ball consistently all evening. The Sainty defense worked hard, but just could not stop the Bluejays. Offensively, the Indians had difficulty moving the ball against a very aggressive Bluejay defense. The Indians could not sustain a scoring drive and were held scoreless for the first time in several seasons.
St. Francis received the kickoff and were stopped immediately by good kick coverge on the 10 yard line. The Indians moved the ball with difficulty and were forced to punt. Norton scored their first touchdown with 5:29 remaining in the 1st quarter on a 20 yard touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone. The PAT kick was good, giving Norton a 0-7 advantage.
The next Indian possession also started on the 10 yard line. The Indians moved the ball a short distance and were faced with a 4th and 2 on the Norton 40 yard line. The Indians made the first down to keep the drive alive. Soon the Indians had 4th & 1/2 yard on the Norton 33 yard line, but the stingy Bluejay defense rose to the occasion and the Indians turned the ball over on downs. On their first offensive play of the possession, the Bluejays scored on a pass play with 4:46 remaining in the 1st quarter. The PAT was good and the Bluejays led 0-14.
Trent Raile returned the ensuing kickoff for 61 yards to the Norton 23 yard line. St. Francis moved the ball to the 16 yard line, but failed on a 4 & 3 attempt with 2:52 left in the second quarter.
Four perfectly executed plays later, Norton was at the St. Francis 13 yard line, 1st and goal, with 1:47 left in the half. The Bluejays soon scored on a 3 yard quarterback sneak to take a 0-21 lead.
The Bluejays kicked to the Indians and turned up their defense. The Indians could not move the ball and the Bluejays used timeouts to preserve the clock as they had the Indians pinned deep in the own territory. With 0:02 remaining in the half, Norton scored a safety when an errant punt snap was mishandled in the end zone. Norton led at halftime 0-23.
One St. Francis third quarter possession found the Indians moving the ball downfield well. The Indians moved the ball to the Norton 16 yard line but failed to find paydirt.
The Bluejays scored with 0:41 left in the 3rd on a 29 yard touchdown run to take a 0-30 lead. A short time later, Norton returned a St. Francis punt 60 yards for another TD increasing the score to 0-36. Terrence Lamb blocked the PAT attempt.
In the fourth quarter, the Indians had 1st and 10 on the Norton 12 yard line, but again failed to score turning the ball over on downs with just under 7 minutes to go in the game. The Indians stopped the Bluejays on their next possession. Norton intercepted an Indian pass with about 4 minutes to go to seal the shutout.
The Indians will play at Hoxie on October 9th.
