2009 Press Releases

Knights stormed by Gators offense, 55-7

The game between Norwin and Gateway was one of big – no, make that huge — plays.

Unfortunately for the Knights, the Gators made almost all of them.

The Gators put up eight touchdowns against Norwin, with the first three coming on plays that covered 65, 55 and 49 yards in the first five minutes of the game, en route to a 55-7 win.

The Gators had an 80-yard touchdown run later in the game, to go along with a couple of 15 yarders.

That was all too much for Norwin to overcome.

The Knights knew all about Gateway's explosive skill players, and tried to keep the ball out of their hands right from the start. Kicking off to open the game, the Knights angled for the sidelines. They stuck to that plan, even when the first two kicks went out of bounds.

But it wasn't enough.

Gateway ultimately started at the 50-yard line. A fumbled pitchout pushed them back to their own 35, but they scored on the next play on a 65-yard catch and run made possible when the Norwin defender slipped and fell.

Norwin punted on each of its next three possessions, while the Gators scored each time they had the ball. It was quickly 26-0 before the first quarter was over.

The Gators pushed their lead to 41-0 by halftime.

Norwin had one good scoring chance in the first half. They advanced to the Gateway 21 with 12.8 seconds to go in the second quarter. But three straight incompletions ended the drive and the half.

The Knights finally got on the board after recovering a muffed punt late in the third. Starting at the Gateway 29, they went nine yards on their first three plays. Going for it on fourth-and-one, quarterback Tim Petro plowed into the line, then spun out of the pile to run 20 yards for the score. That made it 49-7 Gateway eight seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Knights never threatened again, and Gateway took a knee to end the game.

The Knights (3-2-0, 1-2-0) next take on Connellsville in a home game.

  »2009-10-02 Gateway game photos
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Knights travel to Monroeville this Friday to face the Gators

The Knights will make the 10 mile drive north on Friday afternoon to face the #1 ranked Gateway Gators at Antimarino Stadium in Monroeville. For those of you who can't attend in person, The Knights are featured as the game of the week on 1410 AM KQV and the MSA Sports Network this Friday -- Listen Live free starting @ 7pm Friday with the pregame show

VOTE: WTAE Game of the week for Week 5

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Impressive 4th quarter leads to victory over Hempfield 34-13

Sometimes looks can be deceiving. That wasn't the case when the Norwin Knights took on their conference rivals, the Hempfield Spartans.

Playing in front of their home fans on Homecoming weekend, the Knights won the game as handily as the score would indicate, 34-13.

The tone was set early. On the first play from scrimmage, from his own 39, Norwin quarterback Tim Petro threw a pass down the middle to junior wide receiver Christian Bryan that went all the way to the Hempfield 20.

That drive ended without a score, when a third-and-goal pass from the 27 was intercepted, but Norwin recovered a Hempfield fumble one play later and went right to work.

After a bruising run by Norwin senior fullback Joel DeFelice — who finished the night with 168 yards rushing — K'Hari Singleton scored from eight yards out to put Norwin up 6-0.

One possession later, starting at their own 38, the Knights went back to work. DeFelice started the drive with a 37-yard run and Singleton ended with another 8-yarder to put Norwin up 12-0.

Hempfield rallied in just 20 seconds, courtesy of a long kickoff return and a 40-yard run one play later. That cut the lead to 12-7, which is how the first half ended.

The Spartans drove deep into Norwin territory to start the second, but were stopped on a fourth and six. When Singleton fumbled on the next play, though, Hempfield needed just four plays to go up 13-12.

The Spartans then threatened to take the lead. A few plays after a Petro interception, Hempfield tailback R.J. Thomas took a handoff at the Norwin 28 and headed for the end zone. At about the 2-yard-line, though, Petro tomahawk chopped the ball out of his hands and Norwin's Dino Saello recovered the ball in the end.

The Knights then took control of the ball and the game.

Starting at their own 20, the Knights drove downfield behind the running of DeFelice and senior Tyler Lukart, who scored from three yards out. A two-point conversion pass to Bryan made it 18-13.

Saello then made his second big play of the game, intercepting a Hempfield pass. The Knights went on the move again, with Lukart — who finished with 110 yards rushing —scoring from 14 yards out to put the Knights in front 26-13.

DeFelice then put the capper on the night. Running up the middle on a play that looked as if it was going to be stopped at the line, he broke several tackles, bounced off his own teammates and kept going until he'd run 52 yards to the Hempfield 17. He scored a few plays later to make the final score 33-12.

A sack by junior linebacker Drew Smith and two incompletions ended Hempfield's last drive and the game.

The Knights (3-1-0, 1-1-0) next take on Gateway in a road game.

   News Highlights - Ch. 4 Standard | High Def
  »2009-09-25 Hempfield game photos
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Norwin overrun by McDowell 49-6

  »2009-09-18 McDowell game photos
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Norwin wins thriller over Butler 24-21

As encores go, the Norwin Knight's second game of the 2009 football season was a real doozy.

One week after blocking a field goal with less than 30 seconds left to defeat Seneca Valley, the Knights (2-0) kicked a last-second field goal of their own to defeat the Butler Golden Tornadoes, 24-21.

It was a fitting end to a game of big plays and dramatic momentum swings.

Butler took the opening kickoff and promptly drove down field to take a 7-0 lead. The Tornadoes had a chance to extend their lead, too, when, after a three-and-out by the Knights, they drove to Norwin's 27 on their next possession.

A sack by right defense end Ben Baird on first down, a great open field tackle by K'Hari Singleton on a middle screen that looked like it was going to go for big yards on second and a gang-tackling sack on third down killed the drive, however.

The Knights then answered with a score of their own. After a couple of catches by wide receiver Seth Austin, quarterback Tim Petro scored from a yard out to knot the score at 7-7.

Butler went back on top, 14-7, just two minutes later on a 56-yard catch-and-run, but Norwin responded with its own big play. On a third and 10 at the Butler 33, Petro hit a wide open Christian Bryan in the middle of the field for a touchdown to tie it at 14-14.

In the second half, it was the Knights who had several chances to break the game open, starting three drives in Butler territory.

The first, beginning at Butler's 35, resulted in a missed field goal.

The second started at Butler's 40 and ended better. On the first play, Singleton took the handoff, made one defender miss and outraced the Butler secondary to the end zone to put the Knights in front, 21-14.

The third began when the Knights recovered a fumble at the Golden Tornadoes 46. Norwin fumbled it right back, though, and Butler made the Knights pay, scoring on a 28-year touchdown pass with 7:44 left to go in the fourth to knot the score at 21-21.

Then things got really interesting.

With less than a minute to play, the Tornadoes fumbled twice on back-to-back plays. They recovered the first at their own 40, but Norwin's Joel DeFelice grabbed the second. One play later the Knights' Brandon Horsman kicked a 39-yard field goal as time expired to give the Knights the win and set off a wild celebration.

Norwin will next host Erie McDowell (2-0) Sept. 18 in what will be the WPIAL Foothills Conference opener for each team.

  »2009-09-11 Butler game photos
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Norwin knocks off Seneca Valley 17-7

Big plays to start and end the game and some bend-but-don't-break defense in between propelled the Knights to a season-opening win over Seneca Valley.

Playing a non-conference game on the road Sept. 4, the Knights (1-0-0) jumped on the Raiders (0-1-0) early. On the second play from scrimmage, Joel DeFelice ran up the middle 67 yards for a touchdown.

The extra point by Brandon Horsman put the Knights on top, 7-0.

Seneca Valley responded by driving past midfield - as it did on each of its possessions in the game - but in what was also a recurring theme, the Knights refused to break. In this case, a sack by Tyler Lukart and, a few plays later, a fumble recovery by teammate Andrew Cockerman ended the threat.

Seneca Valley tied the score at 7-7 with 2:57 left in the first quarter.

Norwin came close to taking the lead late in the second after Christian Bryan broke a 30-yard punt return. Lukart and DeFelice, who wound up with 108 yards rushing, had some nice runs on the ensuing drive, but it ended with a missed field goal.

Seneca Valley next threatened, opening the second half by driving to Norwin's 2-yard line. But a sack by Ben Baird forced the Raiders into attempting a field goal that was no good.

The team's remained tied until the fourth quarter, when another big play put Norwin in front. Running behind the right side of the line, tailback K'Hari Singleton ran 40 yards to the Seneca Valley 12. Several plays later, Horsman kicked a 19-yard field goal to put Norwin up 10-7.

There was some excitement yet to come, though. Seneca Valley drove to the Norwin 24 on the following drive and lined up to attempt a game-tying field goal with less than 30 seconds left in the game.

The kick was blocked by Tyler Lukart and Christian Bryan, and popped directly into Cockerman's arms. He outraced a defender 65 yards down the left sideline to score. Horsman's extra point provided the final margin of victory.

Norwin next plays at Butler at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11.

  »2009-09-04 Seneca Valley game photos
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   News Highlights - Ch. 4 Standard | High Def

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Welcome to the new Norwin Knights Football web site!

The battle for excellence has begun for the 2009 Norwin Knight Football season.

Camp officially under way, with temperatures reaching the high 90's the first week, didn't deter our Knights. The players reported to camp bright and early each morning, having sessions both in the morning and afternoon.

The Norwin Football Boosters provided the players, coaches, trainers, and managers with a delicious lunch complete with nutrition and a little bit of sugar…which never hurts. Hats off to Mrs. Heidi Waugaman for putting together a wonderful menu, and making sure there was plenty for everyone.

Camp also put into place, the team captains; Tyler Lukart, Justin Merlin, Joel DeFelice and Seth Austin, hopeful to lead our Knights onto the field of battle for a successful season in 2009.

Kudos to Lisa Marghella for organizing another successful Norwin Knight tradition, with our annual Kick-Off Picnic held on August 22nd. The picnic is held after the first home scrimmage. This year the team came up against North Hills, where the Knights showed they are hungry for that starting position.

The team heads off to Baldwin on August 28th to face the second scrimmage of the season, where the competition will continue to show, as they prepare themselves for the season opener at Seneca Valley on September 5th.

Norwin Football Boosters meetings are held the 2nd Thursday of the month in room 139 at 7:30pm. The boosters are a GREAT way to show your support for the team, both on and off the field. So come, and get involved!!! It's never too late.