FOOTBALL

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Junior running back Darnell Jackson rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns as Norwich thumped N.Y. Maritime, 48-15 in a non-league football game Saturday afternoon at Sabine Field. Two blocked punts right before halftime broke open a tight contest and NU coasted in the second half.

With the victory, NU evens its record at 2-2, while N.Y. Maritime falls to 2-2 with the loss.

It did not take long for Norwich (2-2) to start scoring, as the Cadets took the opening kickoff and marched 68 yards in five plays. Jackson capped the drive with a 40-yard touchdown run to give NU an early 7-0 lead.

N.Y. Maritime (2-2) came right back on its ensuing possession, driving 65 yards in 10 plays for the game-tying touchdown. Quarterback Michael Smooke executed a quarterback sneak from one yard out to even the score at 7-7.

Norwich recaptured the lead as sophomore kicker Chris Seifert connected on a 29-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter.

The teams went back and forth over the next several minutes, with NU hanging onto its three-point lead until the final moments of the second quarter. It was then that Norwich's Ren Fenner blocked a N.Y. Maritime punt and Jonathan Nascimento scooped it up and dashed 25 yards to pay dirt.

N.Y. Maritime went three downs and out on its ensuing possession, and Fenner blocked the Privateers' punt again. Nascimento fell on the ball at the one-yard line. Norwich scored two plays later when freshman quarterback Guerschom Jean-Gilles hit sophomore wide receiver E.J. Flannigan with a six-yard touchdown pass. The two late scores gave the Cadets a 24-7 advantage at the break.

Norwich scored on its first possession of the third quarter, driving 45 yards on six plays. Jean-Gilles found Bill Valenzi in stride for a 25-yard touchdown pass to increase the Cadets' lead to 31-7 at the 10:47 mark.

N.Y. Maritime pulled to within 31-15 following a touchdown and two-point conversion, but that was as close as the Privateers would get.

Seifert drilled a 21-yard field goal late in the quarter, and on N.Y. Maritime's ensuing possession, Smooke fumbled the ball and Reza Afsarmanesh picked up the football and ran 25 yards for a touchdown.

Jackson put an exclamation point on Norwich's 33-point victory, running for a 60-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to provide the final margin.

Making  his first collegiate start, Jean-Gilles was efficient, completing 12-of-18 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Valenzi led NU in receiving yards, hauling in 3 passes for 47 yards.

Defensively, Norwich was led by Afsarmanesh, who produced a game-high 10 tackles, including 3.5 tackles-for-loss.

Norwich concludes its brief two-game homestand on Saturday, Sept. 29, when the Cadets welcome Alfred to Sabine Field for the Empire 8 conference opener. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m.