Norwalk falls at Clyde in finale

CLYDE — The Norwalk football team fell behind 10 points early and didn't recover in a 34-3 loss to Clyde in the regular season finale Friday at Bob Bishop Stadium. The Fliers (4-6, 2-2), who earned the 12th and final playoff spot in Division IV Region 14 with the win, set the tone from the outset. The Truckers finished the season at 3-7 overall and 1-3 in the SBC Lake Division. After a punt from Tommy Vanderpool traveled 64 yards and pinned the Fliers at their own 6-yard line, they steadily chipped away at the Norwalk defense. Over 10 plays, the Fliers reached third down just twice, and found the end zone after Jonathan Lantz threw a 23-yard pass to Mason Flewelling, which set up a 21-yard touchdown run by Adam Young with 5:59 led in the first quarter. Mitch Newsome make the first of his four extra points for a 7-0 lead. After a three-and-out by the Clyde defense, the Fliers this time used 11 plays to cover 59 yards. On the first play of the second quarter, the Truckers got the stop and forced Clyde into a fourth-and-6 from the Norwalk 12. Newsome then came on to make a 29-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead at the 11:08 mark of the second quarter. Norwalk got a spark on the ensuing kickoff when senior Gavin Lepley returned it 46 yards two the Clyde 40. Gabe Bellamy then ran for a first down for 10 yards to the Clyde 23. Faced with a fourth-and-7 from the Clyde 20, a 38-yard field goal attempt by Vanderpool was no good with 8:24 left in the half. The Truckers immediately got the ball back, however. Brady Case recovered a Clyde fumble at the Fliers' 27. This time, the Truckers were unable to pick up a first down, but Vanderpool was good from 28 yards to trim the deficit to 10-3 with 8:07 left in the half. But disaster struck on the next play from scrimmage after Vanderpool kicked a touchback to the Clyde 20. Lantz found Dekin Crockett for an 80-yard TD pass and a 17-3 lead with 6:57 left in the second quarter. After another Norwalk punt, the Fliers took over at their own 22 with 4:43 left the half. After nine plays, Clyde was faced with a fourth-and-7 at the Norwalk 19. That led to Newsome kicking a 36-yard field goal to push the lead out to 20-3 with 1:33 left in the half. The Truckers had one more shot at points in the half, as quarterback Brady Singer found Lepley for a 29-yard pass to the Clyde 23. However, the drive stalled there, and Vanderpool's 40-yard field goal attempt was off the mark with 11 seconds left in the first half. The Fliers took the second half kickoff and covered 86 yards eight plays, with Young scoring on a 2-yard run for a 27-3 lead at the 8:12 mark of the third quarter. Norwalk picked up one first down on its following drive before punting the ball back to the Fliers. Clyde then closed out the scoring with a quick 4-play, 80-yard drive. Lantz and JeCori Roberts hooked up for a 66-yard pass play on the first snap. Three runs later by Young, he scored on a 5-yard run with 5:15 left in the third quarter. With the 34-3 lead, the game finished under a running clock, and neither team scored in the fourth quarter. Singer completed 4-of-10 passes for 38 yards. AJ Weilnau ran nine times for 18 yards and Bellamy had 17 yards on seven attempts. He also caught two passes for 11 yards. The game marked the final Sandusky Bay Conference game for both schools. Clyde joined the SBC in 1949, while Norwalk entered the league in 2017 after the Northern Ohio League ended. Both schools, and the other eight SBC Lake and Bay teams will leave to form the Northern Ohio Conference in the 2026-27 school year. Norwalk 0 3 0 0 — 3 Clyde 7 13 14 0 — 34 Scoring CLY — Adam Young 21 run (Mitch Newsome kick) CLY — Newsome 29 field goal NOR — Tommy Vanderpool 28 field goal CLY — Dekin Crockett 80 pass from Jonathan Lantz (Newsome kick) CLY — Newsome 36 field goal CLY — Young 2 run (Newsome kick) CLY — Young 5 run (Newsome kick)