NU football team starts season 2-3

By Clay Couitt
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Having gotten off to a rocky start, the Norwich football team trounced the Plymouth State College Panthers 14-0. This win brought the Cadets to 1-1 in their conference and put the taste of victory back in their mouths.

Some tough losses against nationally-ranked opponents had the Cadets backed into a corner. Coach Yesalonia, wanting to motivate his team, called them out. "We were 0-3 and needed to come together. We [the coaching staff] challenged the team. It was time to circle the wagons."

"It was a big win for us," said Tom Kennedy, a 21-year-old communications major from Weymouth, MA. "This was a conference game, and Plymouth is a strong team, so this was a must win."

Coach Mike Yesalonia, head coach of the Norwich football team, said that the whole team won this game. Several individuals had standout performances, but everyone, from the scout teams to the starters, contributed.

The game started with Norwich kicking off. Plymouth's first drive was ended by a missed field goal. Norwich took over on their 31-yard line, but a fumble ended the Cadets' first drive. This back-and-forth battle continued into the second quarter, when Ben Clark connected with Tom Kennedy for a touchdown. The first half came to an end with Norwich up 7-0.

"The first half started out pretty slow," said Brendan O'Brien, Cadets' linebacker coach, "Once we figured out what changes needed to be made, we started to dominate both sides of the ball."

Spirits were high in the Norwich locker room. Coach Yesalonia told his team, "We've got thirty minutes left to go. Lets keep the focus on what needs to be done. They are down, but not out, so we have to keep squeezing them. We can't let them off of the ground."

"The guys were pretty pumped coming into the locker room. This was the first time that they finished the first half ahead of the Panthers," said Hank VanOrman, Cadets' tight end coach. "The guys were confident and positive, and we told them to take that attitude onto the field for the second half."

Norwich got the ball in the second half and made quick work of the Panthers' defense. Four minutes into the third quarter, Eddie Sulton-el finished off an 80-yard drive by running for a 25-yard touchdown.

"Although we had the lead," said Coach Yesalonia, "Plymouth wasn't going to just lay down and let us role over them. They tried to pull a couple of trick plays, but we just played our game. We didn't sit back and play scared. We played our game, not worrying about mistakes. We just took it to them."

Norwich's defense was solid the entire game.

"After the first drive the defense settled down and took it to the Panthers," said O'Brien."They had a pretty good day. They gave the offense pretty good field position, and they capitalized on it, putting some points on the board."

The Cadets finished the game on top of the Panthers and ready for their next game against Coast Guard. Junior tailback Eddie Sulton'El rushed for 165 yards and a touchdown as Norwich University beat the Coast Guard Academy, 24-17, at Norwich's homecoming game.

The Cadets lost to WPI by the score of 34-17 during parents' weekend. The cadets have a bye this week but will travel to St. Lawrence on Oct. 26.

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