Football - Norwin vs Penn-Trafford

September 30, 2023

Big Fourth Quarter Secures Penn-Trafford's 56-28 win over Norwin

Three 4th quarter touchdowns gave Penn-Trafford the boost they needed to pull away from a scrappy Norwin team, as the Warriors beat the Knights 56-28 in a WPIAL Class 5A Big East Conference matchup on Friday, September 29, at Norwin Knights Stadium in North Huntingdon.

The game was much closer than the final score suggests, as Norwin trailed by only 7 points at the start of the final quarter. The two longtime rivals left it all on the field as they met for their annual battle, with plenty of big plays on both sides and neither team punting during the game.

Penn-Trafford scored on the opening possession when Jessie Lisbon hauled in a 50-yard pass from Jonny Lovre and raced down the PT sideline for the touchdown. Carl Heller, who was 8-for-8 on the night on PAT kicks, added the extra point. The Warriors doubled their lead to 14-0 on their next possession as Ben Grabowski broke loose for a 46-yard touchdown run. Norwin got on the board with a first quarter touchdown of their own, as Jackson Huss ran 20 yards to the endzone. Evan Pfeifer, who was 4-for-4 on the night, kick the extra point.

Penn-Trafford's offense continued to shine in the second quarter, matching their 14-points from the opening quarter. Carmen Metcalfe snagged a 35-yard touchdown pass from Lovre for the first TD of the quarter, and Tasso Whipple's 3-yard run accounted for the other. In between PT's two touchdowns, Norwin's Jackson Pons made a leaping highlight-reel touchdown catch, while falling backwards into the endzone, on a 35-yard pass from Tristyn Tavares. Norwin trailed 28-14 at halftime.

Norwin took the third quarter kickoff and promptly added a 5-yard TD pass from Tavares to Pons to close the deficit to 28-21. The Warriors responded with Whipple breaking loose for his second TD of the game, a 67-yard sprint to paydirt. But Norwin had an answer for that, with Tavares calling his own number on a 1-yard TD run. Norwin was only a TD behind the Warriors as the third quarter clock expired.

But it was as close as the Knights would get. Ben Grabowski would run for three more touchdowns - 17, 13, and 69 yards - as he capped off a 4-touchdown night for Penn-Trafford, who closed out the Knights with a 56-28 win.

Next up for Penn-Trafford (3-3, 2-0) is a home battle for first place against Gateway. Norwin (2-4, 1-1) will travel to Franklin Regional where the two teams will put their matching 1-1 conference records on the line.