'Kick six' return sparks Norton's opening week football rout at Northwest
CANAL FULTON — A "kick six" occurs when a blocked field goal is returned for a touchdown, making it one of the rarest ways to score in football.
That rarity proved to be Norton's catalyst Friday to turn a close game with Northwest into a 35-6 rout at Dr. Martin Smilek Stadium.
Clinging to a 7-0 lead just before the half, two huge plays by Brodey Troutman set the stage for Norton.
First, he batted down a pass on third-and-goal, denying Northwest a potential game-tying touchdown.
The, before Northwest's field-goal attempt, Norton's coaches got a feeling.
"Coach [Matt] Ford predicted right before the snap, 'Luke Dobbins is going to block this kick right now,'" said Norton head coach Glen Kruger.
"The guy in front of me made a perfect block on the guy at the line of scrimmage," Dobbins said. "I was right through with nobody there. The ball went right off my chest."
The block ricocheted to Troutman, who returned it 93 yards for a score.
Up 14-0 at the half and with the momentum, Norton never looked back.
"Our guys stepped up and wanted to be 1-0 on every play," Kruger said.
Northwest was left to rue missed first-half opportunities. It reached Norton territory four times, only to see the drives end with an interception, two turnovers on downs and the blocked field goal.
"They just thoroughly kicked our butts on both sides of the ball," said Northwest coach Jim DeMarco. "That [the blocked field goal] was just one play."
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Breaks and versatility help Norton football break open game at Northwest
For most of the first half, the game was a stalemate. What changed was Norton moving from its spread offense to a three-man I formation.
"It was definitely part of our game plan," Kruger said of three-man I. "We wanted to wait to use it in the second quarter, and we had success. What we're going to do this year is what works."
Using a combination of Dobbins, brothers Noah and Buddy Willig and quarterback Zach Bowman, Norton put together a 14-play drive to take the lead. Bowman opened the scoring with a 1-yard quarterback sneak.
"It's something that's in our offense," Kruger said. "All we do its just move our play makers around. With Luke and with Noah, one of those guys is going to get the ball and they both bring power and speed."
The Willig brothers highlighted Norton's versatility.
Between them, the two lined up in every offensive skill position, including quarterback. Buddy finished with five carries and one catch for a combined 63 yards, while Noah had 54 yards rushing and led Norton with four catches for 41 yards, along with an interception to end Northwest's first drive.
"It was not planned," Noah Willig said. "We just brought it in and the line took it to them. It just went from there."
"It's really just a blessing," Buddy Willig said. "I think we were more prepared that last year with the new offense."
Norton seized control at the start of the second half, as a 13-play drive culminated with another 1-yard TD plunge by Bowman.
"First thing we wanted to try to do was get a stop and they came right down the field and scored," DeMarco said. "Then we just kind of quit and didn't want to compete. It's up to them to decide what they want to do with the season."
Dobbins was a bit overshadowed in Norton's offense until he busted a 63-yard TD up the gut in the third quarter. He finished with 17 carries for 170 yards.
Dobbins noted opposing defenses "wouldn't know where to go" against Norton's multi-formation approach. Evidence of that came with 5:38 left in the game.
With Northwest's defense crashing toward Dobbins, Bowman ran a perfect bootleg and strolled 23 yards untouched for his third rushing touchdown in his starting quarterback debut.
"People were doubting him all this time, because he's a new quarterback," Dobbins said of Bowman. "He's going to prove he's a lot better than people think."
Northwest found the end zone early in the fourth quarter on a 6-yard TD run by Connor Satterfield.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Norton football gets big breaks in week 1 win at Northwest
