Conard Falls to Norwalk, 21-15

kept moving the ball in the second quarter Tuesday night at McKee Stadium. Conard pushed inside the 10-yard line twice. Conard blocked a punt and tried a field goal.

In the Class LL quarterfinals, Conard came away empty.

“When you have three opportunities to score and you don’t, that’s pivotal for your offense and pivotal for their defense,” Conard coach Rob Cersosimo said.

Conard, seeded fourth, also turned over the ball four times in a 21-15 loss to fifth-seeded Norwalk, exiting the opening round of the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

“They played a great game. Our kids played a great game too and they never quit," Cersosimo said.

Conard rushed for 292 yards in the rain and outgained Norwalk 321 to 228 total yards. Norwalk had 86 yards on the ground.

Ricky Cotton rushed for 146 yards on 22 carries and scored his 14^th touchdown on a 15-yard burst late in the fourth quarter. He passed Matt Markese (2007) for fourth place in single season Conard rushing with more than 1,350 yards.

Dominic Spaulding tied the score 7-7 at the start of the second quarter with a 74-yard sideline sprint that Luis Colon preserved with a masterful block.

But too much damage was done on turnovers and big plays by Norwalk.

In the first quarter, Johnny Anzalone returned an interception 59 yards to the Conard 1, where Tomar Joseph plunged for the TD on the next play.

With 1:49 before halftime, Delshawn Wilson hit Derek Edwards with an 89-yard scoring strike that lifted Norwalk to a 14-7 lead.

“They made a great play,” Cersosimo said.

Norwalk also seized the momentum. The pass found Edwards balancing along the left sideline and came two plays after Norwalk pounced on a Conard fumble at the 5.

“I think the Conard [defender] thought our kid ran out of bounds,” Norwalk coach Sean Ireland said. “I’m assuming he just thought he ran out of bounds because he was saying something to the ref after the play.”

Still, Conard rallied.

After the TD, Colon returned the kickoff 55 yards to the 35. After a 2-yard run, Cotton burst 25 yards for 1^st-and-goal at the 8. After a 1-yard run Conard went to the pass, giving up the ball on three straight incompletions.

“Turnovers were huge,” Ireland said. “They could have scored one or two times down in the red zone but they coughed it up. That’s the name of the game, especially in weather like this.”

Ezra Holmes also knocked down a Norwalk punt in the second quarter, putting Conard in business at the 26. Cotton ran three times before Spaulding’s 39-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

Wilson completed 9 of 18 passes for 142 yards and also rushed for 21. Anzalone, who intercepted two passes, ran for 44 yards, including a 6-yard dash that capped a nine-play drive at 8:33 of the third quarter.

“They played great. We played hard,” Cersosimo said. “We didn’t win the game. That’s life. At the end we never quit. I couldn’t be prouder of our kids.”

N (9-1)    –     7      7      7      0      –     21

C (9-2)    –     0      7      0      8      –     15

N: Joseph, 1 run (Wilkins kick), 3:31

C: Spaulding, 74 run (Spaulding kick), 10:04

N: Edwards, 89 pass from Wilson (Wilkins kick), 1:49

N: Anzalone, 6 run (Wilkins kick), 8:33

C: Cotton, 15 run (Cotton run), 2:18