FOOTBALL: Norton steps up for Wilmot

Panthers’ Austin Norton, shown here against Waterford, eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the second straight game Friday against Elkhorn. (Rick Benavidez/The Report).

Panthers blank Elkhorn

By Jason Arndt
Editor

When one rusher goes down, another shows up for Wilmot Union High School, which blanked visiting Elkhorn in a Southern Lakes Conference football tilt Friday.

The Panthers, without Robert Brent for the second straight game, received another sterling performance by Austin Norton.

Norton, a junior, finished with 25 carries for 205 yards and three touchdowns to propel the Panthers to a 36-0 victory.

In the last two games, Norton has 321 yards on 41 carries.

Panthers’ coach Keiya Square saw potential Norton, who played junior varsity last year.

“He has been doing great, coming into the season, I had high hopes for him doing what he has been doing,” said Square, whose team improved to 2-1 in the SLC after Friday’s win.

Overall, the Panthers had 454 yards of total offense compared to the Elks’ 128.

The Panthers’ offensive explosion, according to Square, comes after some early season struggles.

“We wanted to make sure we got back to what we were supposed to be doing, and take care of our business, just get better every day, continue to come out and run the football consistently,” Square said.

Norton starts early
After the Elks committed a turnover in the opening drive, the Panthers took possession at their own 41 yard line, where Norton exploded for a 53-yard run to the Elkhorn 4-yard line.

Then, Norton had a loss of two yards, but responded with a 6-yard score to give the Panthers a 7-0 edge with 6:25 left in the first quarter.

In the ensuing drive, the Elks marched 43 yards downfield to the Wilmot 35, but saw the promising run come to an end when Elkhorn drew a false start and eventually turned the ball over on downs.

With the Panthers taking over at their own 40 yard line, senior quarterback A.J. Frisby manufactured a drive to the 10-yard line, courtesy of a balanced offensive attack.

Of the 50 yards, Frisby found senior receiver Quintin Girardi on an 18-yard strike.

Elkhorn, however, held the Panthers to a 24-yard Anthony Poco field goal.

The Panthers’ widened their lead with 3:37 left in the second quarter, where the Elks forced Frisby out of the pocket, but the quarterback found a seam along the right sidelines for a 61-yard touchdown.

Frisby had 14 carries for 123 yards.

While the Elks entered halftime with a 16-0 deficit, coach Tom Lee said his team had chances to turn tables.

“I thought we had opportunities, we actually had a couple of dropped balls,” said Lee, whose team dropped to 0-3 in the SLC. “We just didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that we had.”

Defense sparks Panthers
In the opening drive of the second half, the Elks started at their own 5-yard line, courtesy of a Poco kickoff.

After a 3-yard run by Sage Rushing, Elks quarterback Braeden Mohr threw an interception to Panthers’ Jacob Gerzel, who returned it for a 20-yard touchdown.

Mohr completed four of 16 passes for 65 yards.

Norton sealed the Panthers 36-0 shutout in the fourth quarter, where he had scores of 1- and 4-yards, giving him five touchdowns for the season.

According to Norton, he knew what had to get done, especially after the loss of Brent.

“It feels nice to help my team out, they are all my friends, and I like getting the job done,” he said. “It’s football, I am going to keep doing what I do.”

Although Brent’s status is uncertain, Square believes the senior runner can return before the end of the season.


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