| Senior RB Kyle Marzeoti had three rushing touchdowns in the Cadets' convincing win over Becker. Norwich athletics photo |
LEICESTER, Mass. - The Norwich University football team racked
up 557 rushing yards in rolling past Becker College, 64-7, in Eastern Collegiate Football Conference action Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field. Sophomore QB Kris Sabourin and running backs Andrew Fulford and Danny Triplett all broke the century mark on the ground, while senior RB Kyle Marzeoti added three rushing scores. The Cadets (4-1 overall, 1-1 ECFC) leveled their conference record with the victory.
Norwich wasted little time taking command of the game, establishing its dominance on the ground on the opening drive. Sabourin took a snap on second-and-eight from the Norwich 33 and ran the ball 67 yards for the opening score on a quarterback draw, finding nothing but open turf in front of him once he got into the second level. The Cadets led 6-0 after the PAT was no good.
The Cadets defense got the ball back into the hands of the offense when it forced a turnover on Becker's second play from scrimmage. Junior DL Brandon Fowler hit the BC ball-carrier at the line of scrimmage, in the process forcing a fumble that senior LB Mike Ohrenberger pounced on at the Hawk's 19 yard-line.
Four plays later, Sabourin ran the ball in for a touchdown on a one-yard scramble. Norwich was successful on the two-point conversion when Sabourin hit sophomore WR Chris Denton on a slant just over the goal line, pushing the NU lead to 14-0 with over 12 minutes to go in the opening quarter.
Norwich would again force a turnover on the next Becker possession when junior DB Sean Stone stepped in front of a Joey Diaz pass and returned it 17 yards to the BC 48 yard-line. The Cadets could not take advantage, however, fumbling the ball back to the Hawks at the hosts' one-yard line.
The miscue did not end up hurting Norwich as the NU defense held the Becker offense to a three-and-out. Denton returned the ensuing punt back down to the Hawk's one yard-line.
Marzeoti plunged the ball the ball in on the following play for his first touchdown of the day. Junior K Long Ding converted the extra point to run the Cadet lead to 21-0.
Ding would add to the NU total when he hit a 29-yard field goal to make it 24-0 with 13:15 to go in the half.
The Cadets would tack on one more touchdown in the first half when Fulford ran it in from five yards out to put the score at 31-0.
Norwich added five more touchdowns on the ground in the second half. Becker (1-4, 1-1 ECFC) managed to get on the board in the third quarter when William Ramirez hit Daniel Ramos with a 24-yard touchdown pass.
The Cadets outgained Becker 576-147 on the game and held a 28-9 edge in first downs. Norwich scored on five of its six trips into the red zone and went 6-of-10 on third downs.
Sabourin paced the rushing attack for NU, posting 133 yards on eight carries and getting into the end zone twice. Fulford added 126 yards on 14 carries along with his score, while Triplett had 114 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns. Marzeoti pitched in 81 yards on 11 carries to go with his three touchdowns.
Senior DL Chris Roberto led the NU defense with six total tackles, including two sacks and 2.5 tackles-for-loss. Fowler also had six tackles (1 TFL and half a sack), while freshman DB Isaiah Quinones added an interception on the first play of the fourth quarter when he made a nice one-handed grab of a Ramirez pass.
The Cadets return to action next Saturday, Oct. 9, when they host Gallaudet for homecoming weekend. Kickoff is slated at Sabine Field for 2 p.m., with the NU athletics hall of fame ceremony to take place at halftime.