Knights' D Dominates Defending Champs

ORD - Staunch defense and big plays on offense spelled a second straight victory for Norfolk Catholic Friday night, as they drubbed last year's C-2 champions on Ord's home field 30-7.
Both offenses struggled early, as each team turned the ball over in a scoreless first quarter. The Knights drew first blood in the 2nd when QB Carter Janssen lofted a perfect 30-yard pass to Brennen Kelley, who hauled it in at the 5 and strode in for the score. A Max Hammond 23-yard field goal made it 10-0 Catholic at the half.
A 73-yard scramble by Ord QB Dylan Hurlburt made it a game in the 3rd, cutting the Knights' lead to 10-7. But from there, it was all Norfolk Catholic. Another Janssen bomb, this time from 33 yards away to Preston Burbach, followed by a 17-yard dash by Karter Kerkman and a 26-yard TD pass to Kerkman capped the scoring. Catholic's D held serve the rest of the half in an impressive performance against an offense that had rolled up 14 TDs in their first two games.
Janssen finished with 147 yards through the air to go along with 66 on the ground. The other half of the Knights' one-two punch was Kerkman, who racked up 117 yards rushing. Norfolk Catholic (2-1) hosts Oakland-Craig next week, while Ord (2-1) is at Broken Bow.