NORWAY — Last year, the Norwegian national eight-a-side football team was plagued by injuries.
The Knights are off to a great start but are once again facing similar problems. On Friday, the Norwegians beat Gogevik 54-22 at Romberg Field to improve to 2-0 on the year.
However, key players Elliot Kramer and Cameron Varda were sidelined with injuries.
“I’m happy with the win” Norway head coach Scott Popp said. “But we have so many injuries that I’m not sure about practice on Monday.”
Junior Owen Baij agreed with his coach.
“First of all, two of our best players were injured right away.” “It’s unfortunate and you have to feel sorry for them,” Baij said.
“But we bounced back, fought for them and won the game for them.”
This isn’t the Knights’ first time in this type of situation, as they lost multiple linemen during a 2023 campaign that ended in the MHSAA Division 1 eight-man regional final.
“It’s going to be tough.” Popp added: “We’ll definitely be moving some guys around, so guys will be playing in positions they’re not used to.”
“Looking back at last year, we had some injuries and we had to put kids in positions they were not used to, and they responded to the situation. Hopefully, that will be the case with our kids this year.”
Despite missing multiple players against the Miners, Norway’s offense never faltered.
“We just mixed some things up, put guys in spots they normally wouldn’t be in and just played the game.” Baij said.
Varda scored the Knights’ first run, scoring on a 19-yard run and the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.
The Norwegian defense stopped Gogevik’s first attempt, and on the next, senior quarterback Cole Byge completed a 16-yard pass to Owen Byge for a touchdown. The Knights missed a two-point try and took a 14-0 lead.
Owen Baij finished with five touchdowns, four receiving and one rushing, as well as eight receptions for 105 yards and six rushing for 69 yards.
“He’s a big factor for us right now.” Popp said. “He’s unbelievable. He can play running back, he can play receiver. If we have to use him at quarterback, he can do that. He’s a guy that can play every position, and that’s what we need right now.”
Instead of basking in the praise, Baiji was quick to mention how important his linemen have been to his success.
“We saw a lot of gaps.” Baij said. “We have good blockers, good linemen. I just have to get through the gaps.”
Cole Byge and Owen Byge completed another 20-yard pass in the first quarter, and Norway led 20-0 going into the second quarter.
Bryce Adams added a 25-yard touchdown catch and Owen Baij scored on another pass from Cole Baij to give the Knights a 32-6 lead at halftime.
The Miners broke through in the third quarter, scoring on a 23-yard run to take a 32-14 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter.
But they would only score one more time as the Knights won 54-22.
Cole Baij finished the game completing 10 of 15 passes for 163 yards and five touchdowns, and also ran once for 22 yards.
Norway also got contributions from Adams (three catches, 45 yards, one touchdown), Andrew Hautamaki (17 carries, 75 yards rushing, one touchdown) and Varda (four carries, 42 yards, one touchdown).
Defensively, Maddex Birkland led the Knights with two sacks and also recorded 10 tackles and two tackles for loss.
Josh Shilts recorded 110 tackles, one sack and one tackle for loss, while Landon Amundson recorded nine tackles and one tackle for loss.
Norway is back in action on Friday in Crystal Falls, taking on Forest Park at 6 p.m. The Trojans are 2-0 since beating Stevenson 50-8 on Sept. 6.
“Forest Park is a rivalry and has been for the last few years since we went to eight-man.” Popp said. “Hopefully I’ll be a little bit healthier when I get to the game. I expect it to be a good game.”
Wausaki 42,
Niagara 14
WAUSAUKEE, Wis. — The Niagara High School eight-man football team fell to 0-2 on the road after losing 42-14 to Wausaukee on Friday.
“There was a problem in the middle.” Said Badgers head coach Philip Towns: “Tough conference loss. We’ve got a lot to work on, but we’ve got some things we’re doing well.”
“The leadership from senior management has been excellent.”
Senior Dante Stachovits led the Niagara defense with eight tackles and one interception. He returned an interception for a touchdown. Noah Wheeler dominated the line of scrimmage and finished the game with three sacks. Avane Patterson also recorded three tackles.
Tommy Martin led the Badgers offense by rushing 12 times for 19 yards and completing 6 of 21 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. Martin also had two interceptions.
Alex Tripp had three catches for 16 yards and Patterson had one catch for 15 yards and a touchdown.
Niagara returns home to face Newman Catholic on Friday at 7 p.m.
Forest Park 50,
Stephenson 8
FELTCH TOWNSHIP — Despite having their home opener postponed to North Dickinson County Schools, Forest Park High School’s eight-man varsity team didn’t lose steam against Stevenson High School, earning a 50-8 victory at James D. Priestup Memorial Field.
The Trojans are 2-0 on the season.
Grayson Sanfel scored twice, Dax Huecki added a 67-yard punt return touchdown, Brodie Starr scored on an interception, Matt Showers caught a 40-yard touchdown pass and Dietrich Lassner ran for 58 yards, giving Forest Park a 42-0 lead after the first quarter.
Nick Stevens returned an interception 42 yards for a score in the third quarter to seal the win for the Trojans.
Lassner led Forest Park’s offense with 58 yards rushing, and he scored one touchdown on one rush.
Also contributing to the Trojan offense were Stevens (40 yards passing, one touchdown), Vic Giuliani (29 yards passing), Sandell (four carries, 49 yards, two touchdowns), James Smith (14 carries, 34 yards), Nikolas Stakovich (six carries, 25 yards), Hukey (one carry, 12 yards), Noah Starr (three carries, 11 yards), Showers (one catch, 40 yards, one touchdown) and Kevin Giuliani (one catch, 29 yards).
Defensively, Stevens led the team with four tackles, three assisted tackles and three tackles for loss.
Kevin Giuliani led the Trojans in sacks.
Forest Park will host Norway on Friday at 6 p.m.
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