Football Preview: Norwich Purple Tornado vs. Johnson City Wildcats
Norwich has enjoyed a three-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Johnson City Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Norwich's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last three contests.
Norwich will head into Friday's game hoping to keep the good times rolling: they only won by three when they last took the field, which might have inspired the 35-point they dealt Oneonta on Friday. Norwich really took it to Oneonta for the full four quarters, racking up a 41-6 win at home. Considering the Purple Tornado have won three matchups by more than 34 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Norwich had a senior duo take command as Braden Hagenbuch rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 12.1 yards per carry and Steven Dowdall rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns. With that strong performance, Hagenbuch is now averaging an impressive 101 rushing yards per game. Another player making a difference was Kassen Stubbs, who picked up 105 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Johnson City was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were outmatched by Maine-Endwell at home and fell 54-6. The Wildcats were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 27-0.
Norwich pushed their record up to 4-2 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. As for Johnson City, their loss dropped their record down to 1-4.
Everything came up roses for Norwich against Johnson City in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, as the squad secured a 56-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Norwich since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
