October 2, 2003

SPORTS

The Norwich Guidon

Norwich football seeks to capture first win; currently 0-2

The Norwich defense lines up against the College of New Jersey in their homecoming game on Sept. 6. The Cadets lost 17-28. (Plourde photo)

By Brian Mullaly
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

The Norwich football team is hungry for a win as they head into this weekend's game versus St. John's Fisher.

The team is currently 0-2 after suffering a tough loss against King's Point.

"We played a really strong game against King's Point, but we blew a lot of opportunities," said Josh Creighton, a senior communications major from Scituate, Mass.

"There were a few times when our offense got into the red zone and we just weren't able to score and that hurt us in the end," Creighton said.

The Norwich players are not taking the losses easily.

"A lot of guys stepped it up in practice this week," said Tim Goodridge, a junior civil engineering major from Wheatly, Mass.

"A loss is a loss; nothing good is going to come out of a loss, except that we can move forward and change things," Goodridge said.

The men's team is expecting a tough one against St. John's Fisher, as they are 2-0 and are flying high from their recent success.

"St. John's Fisher is a good team, but what everyone on our team knows is, so are we," said CJ Daly, a senior history major from Orange, Calif. "I can't wait to prove to everyone what we can do."

The Cadets are expecting to play an energized St. Johns Fisher.

"We will be able to handle them; they will be cocky, being 2-0, and us being 0-2. It should be a good game," Creighton said.

The Norwich defense will have its hands full trying to stop Fisher's running back, who has posted an average of 288 yards in the first two games.

"They have a really good running back, so if we can stop him we should be all right. They are not as complex on defense, so our offense should be able to put up a lot of points," Daly said. The Cadets have tried to put the losses behind them and focus on the game that lies ahead.

"It's just a matter of all of our guys going out and executing on game day," Daly said.

"We are not a bad football team, we are 0-2 and our record looks pretty bad, but overall we have played two teams that have been ranked, and we did not beat them, but had great opportunities to do so," said head Football Coach Mike Yesalonia.

The season is still young, and the Norwich football team plans to come out on top.

"Once the offense and defense and the special teams all come together and work as one, we will have a really good team this season," Creighton said.

The Norwich Guidon is a twice-monthly student newspaper distributed at Norwich University. It provides laboratory experience for students in the Communications program. Claims asserted by letter writers, editorials and other articles do not represent the positions of Norwich University. The Norwich Guidon welcomes signed letters to the editor. They should be no longer than 300 words. Unsigned letters will not be printed, but names may be withheld upon worthy request. All letters are subject to editing for length and good taste. Mailing address: The Norwich Guidon, Communications Center, Norwich University, Northfield, VT 056632. www.norwich.edu/guidon. If you have any questions or comments about the paper, please contact Professor Ken Bush at kbush@norwich.edu.