Norwin dominates Kiski Area from start to finish, evens record at 1-1

By: Ted Sarneso
Friday, August 29, 2025 | 11:45 PM

What a difference a week makes.

Coming into their matchup Friday night at Norwin Knights Stadium, the hosts and visiting Kiski Area Cavaliers would experience opposite outcomes from how they finished the week prior.

Kiski Area (1-1) came into the game after shutting out Knoch despite racking up more than 100 yards of penalties. Norwin (1-1), meanwhile, had lost by three at Penn-Trafford after its furious rally came up just short.

On this night, the Knights of the Class 6A Quad-County Conference came out firing on all cylinders, cruising to a 42-7 win over the visiting Cavaliers of the 5A Big East Conference.

“We haven’t seen a start like that in quite a long time,” Norwin coach Mike Brown said. “It was nice to see a complete game.”

It was total domination by the Knights, who outgained the Cavaliers, 426-120, in total yards.

“We overpowered them all game, and it was clear from the start that we could do whatever we wanted on offense, and our defense played their tails off,” Norwin quarterback Tristyn Tavares said.

On the first play of its opening possession, Kiski Area got a solid 5-yard gain from running back Ashton Taylor, but Taylor was bottled up for a 5-yard loss on the next play.

“They had a good game plan on offense where they waited to see what we’re in and attacked us when we lined up,” Kiski Area coach Colyn Haugh said. “We made some adjustments and made plays late, so we battled. We need to move the sticks, and we just didn’t do that tonight.”

After the Cavaliers punted, the Knights mounted a 10-play drive that finished with Tavares’ 27-yard touchdown run down the right side.

“We had a good drive going, and I got my name called,” Tavares said. “I was untouched the whole way. I think anyone could have scored on that play. Our line did their job, and the receivers did a great job blocking on the outside.”

That’s how the game played out from start to finish: Kiski Area struggling to gain anything offensively and Norwin swiftly moving the ball down the field for points.

“We’re fast, to a point,” Brown said. “If we need to slow it down, we’ll do that. We like to go fast, and, with our size and depth, it gives us an advantage.”

The Knights used their depth at the skill positions to keep the Cavalier defense off balance all night.

Tavares threw passes to six receivers, and the Knights had six players carry the ball out of the backfield.

Tavares finished 11 of 14 for 149 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 49 yards and a score.

Junior running back Giovanni Rothrauff ran for 120 yards on 18 carries and had two touchdowns, and fellow junior tailback Dylan Greives ran for 62 yards and a score.

“We’ve never really had that depth before,” Brown said. “It gives our guys a sense of competition throughout practice. They don’t know until Thursday who will be starting, so it keeps them on track to keep working.”

Norwin scored on all but two of its possessions.

On its second drive, Tavares found Potter Brozeski in the end zone for a 13-yard score. Then, on the Knights’ next drive, Josh Lenart scored on a 1-yard run.

The Knights then pounded in two scores from inside the 5-yard line and initiated the running clock.

“Our defense played well at times,” Haugh said. “We just have to be more consistent on that side, get off the field more often.”

Kiski Area got sophomore quarterback Landyn Altman back from injury, and he went 10 for 19 for 101 yards and a touchdown to Lucas Vacanti that came with two minutes left in the game.

But with Norwin shutting down the run game, there was no balance for the Cavaliers offense.

“I think that any week, that will be the game plan,” Brown said. “In high school football, it’s about who can run the football. Last week, we didn’t do a good job at stopping the run.”

“Landyn’s a good quarterback, but he’s young and is going to make some mistakes,” Haugh said. “This was a good experience for him, to understand that we need to be balanced in order for him to be successful.”

Tags: Kiski Area, Norwin