FOOTBALL: Norfolk Rallies In Third Quarter In Win Over Northeast

Norfolk started hot in the first quarter, cooled off considerably in the second, but the Panthers were running on all cylinders in the third quarter.

A 21-point rally from seven down at halftime gave Norfolk a 35-20 win over Lincoln Northeast in high school football Thursday night at Seacrest Field, in a game that was streamed on kfornow.com.

The Panthers (1-3) got their first win with much of the credit given to Brayden Splater, who rank for 199 yards and four touchdowns, three of those coming during the pivotal third quarter.  Splater scored from 17 yards, 27 yards and one yard to put Norfolk ahead for good at 28-14.

Northeast (1-3) closed the gap to a possession, when quarterback Dylan Gray found receiver Kaleb Merrill on a 59-yard touchdown pass with 3:14 left in the third quarter, giving the Rockets new life at that point only down 28-20.

Norfolk responded when quarterback Jace Monday found receiver Gage Dohren on a 51-yard pass deep into Northeast territory.  Monday would score a couple of plays later from 4-yards out.

A 13-play, 94-yard drive for the Panthers in the first quarter was capped on a one-yard run from Splater to go up 7-0.

A blocked field goal attempt gave Northeast life, which gave them a 9-play, 65-yard drive that ended on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Gray to Jesston Howard.

Norfolk went three and out on their next possession and a short punt resulted in the Rockets having the ball at the Panther 30-yard line.  On the first play from scrimmage, Northeast running back Josh Platter broke free for a touchdown run to give the Rockets a 14-7 advantage with just over five minutes left in the first half.