Norwalk opens with road win

TOLEDO — The Norwalk football team got three rushing touchdowns from junior Nico Helton in a 26-7 win over host Start on Friday in Toledo. After a scoreless 12 minutes, Helton opened the scoring with a 4-yard run with 11:15 left in the second quarter. Tommy Vanderpool added the extra point for a 7-0 lead. Quarterback Brayden Viock then found a wide open Jameson Poole up the left sideline for a 15-yard TD pass in the second quarter, which extended the lead to 14-0 after another Vanderpool PAT. Helton added a 4-yard run with 1:29 left in the third quarter that made it 20-7, then he capped the scoring on a 22-yard run with 2:53 left in the game. Helton finished with 149 yards and the three scores on 32 rush attempts to pace the Truckers. Viock was 9-of-18 passing for 115 yards with the one TD, while Ben Rothhaar added three catches for 42 yards. Also for Norwalk, Carter Harp had six tackles and an interception on defense. Rothhaar had eight tackles, and Brady Case added four. The win also marked the second straight over Start in Week 1 after last season's 27-0 win in Norwalk. That victory snapped a 16-game losing streak — and a streak of four consecutive season-opening defeats. Norwalk has another long trip next week at Eastlake North. The Rangers are coming off a 21-14 loss to Ashtabula Lakeside.