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ROUGH KNIGHT: Lake Linden Lakes Beat Norway
 Click the thumbnails for photos and videos from the game. NORWAY---The Norway High School football team opened its season Thursday night with a 54-34 loss to the Lake Linden-Hubbell Lakes in Norway. The Knights fell behind early, battled back several times, but couldn't get over the hump in losing the first of two match-ups between the teams. They will meet again in Week Three.  Norway's passing game was clicking, with Cole Baij throwing four touchdown passes, but that wasn't enough to overcome the Lakes attack between the hasmarks. Lake Linden-Hubbell took advamtage of a Norway turmover early on as Baij was sacked by Sam Roberts and fumbled, with the ball being scooped up by Nate St. Onge deep in Norway territory. The Lakes cashed in on a Matt Jokela touchdown run, and the two-point run was good (LLH made six of their seven two-point conversions; Norway was 2-of-5). The Knights came back with a touchdown pass from Baij to Wyatt Spade, who made a nice grab in the middle of the end zone, but the Lakes came right back up-field with old-style Coach Ron Warner smashmouth football, capped off by a Mason Holzbverger TD run. The ensuing kickoff was electrifying, as Spade took the ball at his own one yard-line and raced up the sideline, breaking several arm tackles and sprinting for a 99-yard touchdown to bring Norway to within 16-14 (after the two-point conversion was good). After that, the Lakes never kicked to Spade the rest of the night, choosing to pooch-kick it and give Norway the ball at midfield.  And quarterback Danny Marcotte, who's season was cut short by a leg injury last year, looked fine Thursday night. Marcotte scored two touchdowns before the halftime horn went, and the Knights suffered a gruesome arm injury to lineman Tristan Heigl. Baij tossed a pretty touchdown pass to Alex Ortman to the three-yard-line, and Ortman dorve into the end zone, but at halftime, it was a 38-20 lead for the visitors. The third quarter belomged to Norway, and the Knights' leader, senior Ian Popp, was a leader on both sides of the ball. Norway scored on its first two third quarter possessions, with another TD pass from Baij to Spade and another to Bryce Adams. All of a sudden, it was a 38-34 game, and Norway was on the comeback trail. The Lakes drove inside the Norway 15-yard-line, but Popp forced a fumble. It was the only turnover of the evening for Lake Linden, but it set the Knights up at their own ten yard-line. Norway moved the ball up-field, mostly in the air, but also with Popp running hard on the ground. The Knights appeared to take the lead when Baij threw to a wide-open Spade in the end zone. Unfortuantely for the home team, he dropped the ball. The fourth-down desperation pass was long throgh the back of the end zone, and the Knights' big chance was gone. There was still more than a minute left in the third quarter, and an entire fourth quarter was still on the clock, but the wind was taken out of the sails of the Norway team. Lake Linden scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Norway's junior varsity team beat the North Central JV's, 34-12.  |
