Two interceptions and two fumbles cost the Norwalk offense in another tough loss at Flashes Field.

 

WILLARD- It may not have been as painful, but in the end it was yet another stinging loss for the Norwalk Truckers at Flashes Field in Willard Friday night, as the Truckers were cost a piece of team history for the second straight time they played at Willard..

The Truckers (2-7, 2-4) had four key turnovers that helped give Willard (3-6, 2-4) good field position on a night when the field conditions were crucial, and it all added up to a 30-7 loss to the Flashes. In 2004, Norwalk was heavy favorites and had a 28-14 halftime lead before having a second-half collapse in losing 35-28. That game cost the Truckers a 6-4 record, keeping the streak of losing seasons at 28 and counting.

On Friday night, the Truckers were favored in the eyes of many, and a win would have set up a realistic shot at a 4-3 league record, which would have been just the second time since 1977 the Truckers had a winning Northern Ohio League record.

The Truckers got on the scoreboard first in the game, as quarterback Kyle Kurtz was able to find Clay Duncan on a 28-yard touchdown pass to cap a six-play, 64-yard drive with 5:44 left in the opening quarter. Kurtz added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

Willard was able to answer just over two minutes later, however, as a Kurtz fumble set up the Flashes with excellent field position, and Lawrence Cavello started his huge game with a 16-yard touchdown run with 3:18 left in the first quarter. Cavello added his first of three extra points to tie the game.

After a couple more Norwalk turnovers, the Flashes took the lead for good scoring two huge scores in the final two minutes of the first half. First Cavello kicked a 23-yard field goal with 2:00 left, and off another fumbled snap, the Flashes got a 19-yard touchdown pass from Zac Thornton to Eric Opatken with just :44 left to give Willard a 17-7 lead heading into the locker room.

That proved to be more than enough, as the Trucker offense was unable to amount any sustained drives in the second half. Cavello scored on a 58-yard run with 11:09 left in the game to make it 24-7, then after Norwalk was unable to convert a 4th-and-10 at their own 10-yard line, Cavello closed out his career night with a six-yard run with just 2:30 left to close out the scoring.

Cavello carried 23 times for 178 yards and scored 24 total points to lead the Flashes, while Kyle Kurtz was 14-of-34 passing for 148 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions for Norwalk. Duncan caught three passes for 43 yards and the score, while Trent Ringle added three catches for 54 yards and a team-high 32 yards rushing on nine attempts.

Norwalk will look to finish 3-7 overall and 3-4 in the NOL with a win at Galion (1-8, 0-6) next Friday. The Tigers have lost 36 consecutive league games.

Other individual stats:

Rushing
Kyle Kurtz- 10 attempts for -19 yards and 3 fumbles
Josh Cook- 3 attempts for 18 yards
Tyler Smith- 2 attempts for 2 yards

Receiving
Spencer Krebs- 4 catches for 28 yards
Tyler Smith- 1 catch for no yards
Josh Cook- 3 catches for 23 yards

Tackles
Josh Cook- 14 tackles
Ryan Wagner- 13 tackles
Trent Ringle- 8 tackles
Spencer Krebs- 7 tackles
Jake Vislay- 6 tackles
Tyler Smith- 6 tackles
Clay Duncan- 5 tackles
Andrew Enderle- 4 tackles
Jared Torrence- 2 tackles
Kevin Drake- 2 tackles

    NORWALK (2-7, 2-4)-  7  0  0   0  7
 WILLARD (3-6, 2-4)-        7 10  0 13 30

First Quarter
N- Clay Duncan 28 pass from Kyle Kurtz (Kurtz kick), 5:44
W- Lawrence Cavello 16 run (Cavello kick), 3:18

Second Quarter
W- Cavello 23 field goal, 2:00
W- Eric Opatken 19 pass from Zac Thornton (Cavello kick), :44

Fourth Quarter
W- Cavello 58 run (Cavello kick), 11:09
W- Cavello 6 run (Cavello kick), 2:30