SECTION VI FLAG FOOTBALL: WAVERLY FENDS OFF LATE NORWICH DRIVE; SETTLES FOR 19-19 TIE (2024-04-17)

Valley Sport Report
WAVERLY — Senior Paige Robinson ran for three TDs, but Waverly needed a late defensive stand to preserve a 19-19 tie with Norwich here Wednesday night in Section IV girls flag football action at Memorial Stadium.

The story of the game was penalties. Waverly was flagged more than 15 times in the game.

“We had three touchdowns called back,” said Waverly coach Dave Shaw. “We played hard, and we had our chances … we missed open receivers, and dropped a couple touchdown passes.

“(Norwich) made some plays, and we made too many mistakes,” added Shaw.

Norwich made several big plays through the air, three for fourth-down conversions.

“They got behind us, that’s something we were concerned about,” said Shaw. “I thought we were in position to make plays a few times, but their main receiver was tall, and she just made a play on the ball and beat us.

“It’s something we haven’t seen a lot of, and it’s something we haven’t worked on enough — that’s on me,” added Shaw.

The Wolverines, now 3-0-1, took an early 6-0 lead on the game’s first possession when Robinson capped a scoring drive with an 8-yard TD run.

The teams traded possession, with Waverly coming up with a defensive stop inside their own 5 with about 8 minutes remaining in the first half.

After a short possession, the Wolverines punted, and Norwich drove to tie the game with less than two minutes left in the half.

The Purple Tornadoes opened the second half with a scoring drive that included a pair of fourth-down completions to take a 12-6 lead. It was Waverly’s first deficit since trailing 7-6 early in the season-opener at Windsor.

It didn’t take long for the Wolverines to respond as Robinson broke loose two plays later on a 59-yard TD run. Robinson’s toss to senior Erica Ryck on the extra point gave the Wolverines a 13-12 lead with 20 minutes remaining in the game.

Norwich’s next possession ended with a punt, and Waverly drove for another score, with Robinson capping the drive with a 9-yard TD run with 11 1/2 minutes remaining, to take a 19-12 lead.

Norwich again went to the air, and again came up with a big fourth-down conversion, ultimately scoring on a short pass, then adding the extra point to tie the game at 19-19 with 7:11 remaining.

Waverly drove into Norwich territory on the ensuing possession, but stalled out due to a penalty.

The Purple Tornadoes answered with a drive deep into Waverly territory, but time expired.

Robinson led Waverly with 167 yards and three TDs on 21 carries, while senior Ally Barrett added 74 yards on eight carries, Ryck added 16 yards on four carries, and 8th-grader Kaylin Twedt chipped in with 10 yards on two carries.

Robinson completed just 2 of 12 passes for 24 yards, and was intercepted once.

Senior Ashlen Croft had one reception for 20 yards, and Ryck had one catch for four yards.

Freshman Lauryn Welles, and sophomore Mira Kittle led Waverly with seven flag pulls to lead the Wolverines, while Robinson and senior Brenae Tedesco each had three.

Waverly returns to action Saturday morning at Greene.

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IN PHOTO: Waverly’s Paige Robinson. … VSR STOCK PHOTO.