NORWOOD — Bryce Sipple passed for two touchdowns, ran for another and had an interception Friday in Blanchester’s 21-13 win over Norwood.

The non-league football win evens the Wildcats record at 2-2. Norwood falls to 0-4.

“We came out hitting and tackling,” coach Justin Schmitz said. “It was an emotional night for all of us. We all needed a win. Our kids made it happen. I’m really proud of the way they all stood up, flattened their backs, and dug in for that fist fight. It was a special game that I won’t soon forget.”

Schmitz said the defense played well in holding down the Indians offense.

“(Line)backers read their keys and ran downhill,” he said. “Our secondary did a phenomenal job keeping a lid on things for us.”

Sipple threw both touchdown passes to Zach Musselman and ran for another 104 yards on the ground. His interception was one of four for the Blanchester defense.

The Wildcats drove inside the Norwood 20 on their second drive but came up short on a fourth down play.

Blanchester was not denied on its next possession which ended in a 32 yard scoring pass from Sipple to Musselman. Sebastian Smith added the tw0-point conversion run for an 8-0 BHS lead.

The Wildcats defense had back-to-back interceptions and the offense cashed in the second one, with Sipple again finding Musselman for six, this time on a screen pass. Jarod Daniels added the point after kick and the Cats had a 15-0 advantage.

In the second half, Blanchester fumbled away another scoring opportunity and Norwood responded with a touchdown, 15-7.

Sipple’s final touchdown of the game came at 8:29 and the Indians put their last points on the board at the 4:42 mark.

The Wildcats had 13 penalties in the game, prompting Schmitz to say, “We have to be more disciplined. We shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties. We’ll go to work cleaning those up this week.”

SUMMARY

Sept 8, 2023

@Shea Stadium, Norwood

B^0^15^0^6^^21

N^0^0^7^6^^13

SCORING

First Quarter

No scoring

Second Quarter

B-Zach Musselman 32 yard pass from Bryce Sipple (Sebastian Smith run)

B-Zach Musselman 12 yard pass from Bryce Sipple (Jarod Daniels PAT)

Third Quarter

N-50 yard touchdown pass (Kick good)

Fourth Quarter

B-Bryce Sipple 10 yard (PAT failed)

N-9 yard touchdown run (PAT failed)

STATISTICS

PASSING: B-Bryce Sipple 8-16-1, 145 yards, 1 TD

RUSHING: B-Bryce Sipple 25-104-1; Sebastian Smith 21-94-0; Isaiah Snader 2-7-0

RECEIVING: B-Zach Musselman 7-124-2; Isaiah Snader 1-28-0

TACKLES: Chase Barnes 7 Sebastian Smith 4 Tristan Malone 6 Zach Musselman 1 Ray Montgomery 4 Aiden Begley 1 Bryce Sipple 2 Jude Huston 3

INTERCEPTIONS: Zach Musselman 1 Bryce Sipple 1 Austin Dick 1 Seth Perkins 1

FIRST DOWNS B-24; N-11

TURNOVERS: B-2; N-4

PENALTIES: B 13-79; N 6-50