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Norway shuts down LL-H in 2nd half for 21-11 victory

Lake Linden-Hubbell’s Ben Wilson (60), Tyler LaCasse (62), Caleb Gregoire (20) and Jesse Hill (30) tackle Norway fullback Jake Dolfurd on Friday, Oct. 13, 2017, in Norway, Mich. (Adam Niemi/Iron Mountain Daily News)

NORWAY — The Norway Knights controlled the second half in a 21-11 win against Lake Linden-Hubbell on Friday.

Norway also got a big boost with 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Mitchell LeGrave.

The win gives the Knights a share of the Mid Eastern Conference title after their first year in the league.

The Lakes drove the ball 60 yards in about a minute and a half to close out the first half with a 28-yard field goal by Peter Heikkinen.

That was more offense for the Lakes in that drive than they found for the rest of the game, being limited to just 39 total offensive yards in the second half.

“They started blitzing the house on us and we didn’t do a good job picking it up. And when we did pick it up we got a holding penalty,” LL-H head coach Andy Crouch said. “We created those mistakes ourselves. And when we had some chances, to make an interception on a pass, it happens. They’re kids — nobody’s trying to make mistakes. We’ll move forward.”

The Knights, meanwhile, found their groove in the second half with 186 yards of offense, including 123 rushing and 63 passing. LeGrave’s 150 rushing yards for the game came on 22 carries (6.8 yards per carry). Norway had 230 rushing yards for the night, including 68 yards on 16 carries (4.25) for Jake Dolfurd.

The Knights had had Micah Wilson taking the bulk of the carries until this week. Wilson was moved to wideout, where he caught six passes for 77 yards.

“We did some key moves,” Norway head coach Bob Madigan said. “We moved Mitchell LeGrave completely to halfback. We moved Micah Wilson out a little bit and did some changes. I think it was kind of a shakeup week for us. If we wouldn’t have, I don’t know if we would’ve won.”

Aaron Hainault led the Lakes with 51 rushing yards on 16 carries. Lake Linden racked up 202 total yards of offense, including 155 rushing and 47 passing.

Carter Crouch’s 8-yard run for a score with 4:49 left in the second quarter followed by a 2-point conversion gave the Lakes an 8-7 lead. Heikkinen’s field goal came after a timeout with four seconds left after the Lakes drove 60 yards in 1:34.

“I couldn’t even tell you the last time we practiced a field goal, so that was cool. The last drive was good,” Crouch said. “We got down early. We took the lead at 8-7, then to get a couple stops and go on a good drive. Our kids were shell-shocked at first but we controlled the line of scrimmage in the second quarter. That’s what we need to do.”

The Lakes’ 11-7 halftime lead stood until LeGrave’s 5-yard run with 5:46 left in the third swung the tide. He scored again on an 18-yard run in the final minute of the quarter.

Lake Linden’s six penalties short-changed a few drive. Four second-half penalties stifled the offense. But Crouch said there were things the team did to build off for next week’s game against Manistique. After all, the Lakes are still in contention for the playoffs.

“I thought our kids played their tails off with our numbers compared to their numbers, having the lead at halftime. We made too many mistakes ourselves,” Crouch said. “The mistakes we made were hustle mistakes and I can live with it. They’re kids playing and I’m pretty proud of these guys here. It would’ve been nice to knock them off but it is what it is. We’re going to go to work on Monday and get ready for Manistique and hopefully slide into the playoffs at 4-4.”

After spending years in the Mid-Peninsula Conference, Norway had grown accustomed to being the smallest conference school, physically and sometimes roster-wise. Madigan noticed how much smaller the Lakes’ roster is compared to the Knights and said he was blown away by Lake Linden’s ability to put up a fight throughout the game. The Knights have 26 players listed while the Lakes have 17 – five of which are sophomores.

“I’m proud of Coach Crouch. He came down with 11 sophomores and freshmen and played us. He came with 16 or 17 kids and played us solid. I have nothing but admiration for that coach holding together that program, that small school, and competing,” Madigan said. “We played them in the districts last year and they had a lot of seniors. They came down here with a young team and were beating us at halftime, 11-8. We’re half juniors, half seniors. I was proud of that Lake Linden team, proud of the way they played and the way they hit.”

Madigan focused the defense on plugging gaps and making tackles at the line of scrimmage to stop Lake Linden’s Full House T offense. During a practice drill on Tuesday, Madigan lined up the scout offense in the Full House T and gave all three backs a ball. On the snap, they plunged toward the line of scrimmage over and over until Madigan was satisfied with the gap coverage and the tackling. It was a drill he made up on the spot to try and get the defense to focus on the gap assignments and not watching the ball, where a Full House T can freeze defenses with deceptive fakes going in all sorts of directions.

“We were tough on the kids this week. We had practices till 6 o’clock. We hit and tackled,” Madigan said. “It was one of those weeks where it was a defining week for us. The kids responded and played.”

Lake Linden-Hubbell 0 11 0 0 – 11

Norway 7 0 14 0 – 21

First Quarter

N – Micah Wilson, 18-yard pass from Josh Plante (Plante kick), 8:29

Second Quarter

LL-H – Carter Crouch, 8-yard run (2-pt good), 4:49

LL-H – Peter Heikkinen, 28-yard field goal, 0:00

Third Quarter

N – Michell LeGrave, 5-yard run (Plante kick), 5:46

N – LeGrave, 18-yard run (Plante kick), 0:49

Total offense: Norway 329, LL-H 202

Passing: Norway 8-10, 101 yards, LL-H 4-9, 47 yards

Rushing: Norway 44 carries, 230 yards, LL-H 39 carries, 155 yards

Turnovers: Norway 0, LL-H 1

Penalties-yards: Norway 5-45, LL-H 3-30

Time of possession: Norway 28:12, LL-H 19:48

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