Blue Streaks can't keep up with Truckers

NORWALK — In a huge game on the road, the Sandusky football team got the perfect start.But once host Norwalk got rolling, it proved hard to stop. The Truckers totaled nearly 500 yards of offense, scored four touchdowns and made three field goals in a 37-20 win over the Blue Streaks in an SBC Lake Division game at Whitney Field.The Truckers — ranked No. 13 in the latest Division III Associated Press state poll — improved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the Lake. Sandusky fell to 5-2, 1-1. With Columbian's win over Clyde, the Truckers are alone in first place ahead of next Friday's game at Perkins."Two good teams went at it, but they won the line of scrimmage," Sandusky coach Mike Franklin said. "We had some missed tackles on some of those long runs, and Norwalk took advantage of it."After Norwalk turned the ball over on downs at the Sandusky 39 to open the game, the Blue Streaks grabbed their only lead of the game. They quickly covered 61 yards in five plays, as standout running back Terion Stewart ran for 30 yards to the 10 — then covered that distance on the next play for six points.The extra point from Michael Franklin put Sandusky up 7-0 at the 8:51 mark of the opening quarter.Norwalk was quick to answer. The Truckers moved 77 yards in five plays, as senior running back Evan Stumpf ran through a huge hole on the right side for a 42-yard TD run to set the tone for a monster night. The first of four Garrison Smith extra points tied the game at 7-7 with seven minutes left in the first quarter.Early in the second quarter, Smith's leg again took center stage. An intermittent rain had picked up a steadier pace, and Norwalk was faced with a fourth-and-7 at the Sandusky 36. Norwalk coach Todd Fox sent out Smith to try the 53-yard field goal — and he boomed it with ease with at least five more yards of room when it cleared the goalposts.Smith had broken the school record with a 50-yard field goal on Sept. 20 at Edison. He has not missed a field goal (7-of-7) or an extra point (35-of-35) and has multiple touchbacks in all seven games."I was asked earlier in the week when would we try something beyond 50 with him, which got me thinking," Fox said. "And then tonight in pregame, he was good from 55 at the other end right down the middle with room to spare. He did the same thing in practice on Thursday."So we went for it and Garrison answers the bell every single time," he added.Smith added a 43-yard field goal to give Norwalk a 20-7 lead with 2:41 left in the half.The Blue Streaks stayed within striking range. Franklin connected with Noah Caston in the flat, and he was able to make a move and go up the left sideline for a 63-yard pass and catch TD with 1:47 left in the half. The kick failed, but Sandusky managed to trail 20-13 at the break.After both teams traded possessions to start the third, linebacker Ethan Hernandez intercepted Franklin at the Sandusky 30. Three Stumpf runs, the last from 12 yards out, put the Truckers in the end zone with 6:04 left in the quarter to lead 27-13.Smith added a 31-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in the third quarter for a 30-13 lead. That proved important when Sandusky responded by covering 80 yards in just over two minutes. Stewart scored from 2 yards out with 9:58 left in the game to put the Streaks within 30-20.But just two plays after the Stewart TD, Norwalk's Alec Maloney put the game away with a 67-yard run to close out the scoring with 9:03 left."Every time we were able to get close, they were able to put together a scoring drive or a long play to kind of put out what we had started," Coach Franklin said.Stumpf ran the ball 37 times for 344 yards and three touchdowns. Maloney added 121 yards and his score on eight attempts."They took away the pass from us, but led by our line, the run game was able to take over instead," Fox said. "Evan had another impressive night, and then when we went to our two-back offense, in comes Maloney to stand out."If everyone is doing their job, great things can happen and it can be a lot of fun," he added. "We gave up the big play before half, but other than that our defense played great."Quarterback Garrett Chapin was 8-of-15 passing for 47 yards for the Truckers, with Ryan Sowders catching three passes for 25 yards.After rushing for 40 yards on two straight carries on the opening drive, Stewart was held to 40 yards rushing the rest of the game. He left once with a bothersome ankle injury and finished with 80 yards on 22 attempts.Michael Franklin was 10-of-22 passing for 200 yards, with Caston catching four of those for 76 yards and the TD. JT Lewis added four catches for 79 yards, and Ja'Vontre Roldan had a 32-yard grab that helped set up Stewart's second score.Norwalk is at Perkins next Friday, while the Blue Streaks entertain Clyde (5-2, 1-1)."It's a long season, and we know it's going to be a grind," Coach Franklin said. "We have to continue to learn from our mistakes and what we did wrong. But we still have a grind to go, and anything can still happen in the league."Sandusky 7 6 0 7 — 20Norwalk 7 13 10 7 — 37SAN — Terion Stewart 10 run (Michael Franklin kick)NOR — Evan Stumpf 42 run (Garrison Smith kick)NOR — Garrison Smith 53 field goalNOR — Stumpf 53 run (Smith kick)NOR — Smith 43 field goalSAN — Noah Caston 63 pass from Franklin (kick failed)NOR — Stumpf 12 run (Smith kick)NOR — Smith 31 field goalSAN — Stewart 2 run (Franklin kick)NOR — Alec Maloney 67 run (Smith kick) Sandusky's Terion Stewart gets by the outstreched hand of Norwalk's Andrew Mazina to score a touchdown.Norwalk's Evan Stumpf runs for yardage as Sandusky defensive lineman Jeremiah Johnson tries to make a tackle in the first quarter of Friday's game at Whitney Field.