After starting a season with high expectations with an 0-3 record, the Norwell Knights put things right and gave Bellmont no room to breathe, continuing to hold the Braves scoreless on the season in a no-nonsense 42-0 NE8 win.
The Knights piled up 340 yards of offense, capitalizing on Bellmont fumbles and Cayden Cassel finished 10 of 13 in the air for nearly 200 yards and four touchdowns.
On a perfect night for high school football in Wells County, the Knights took the opening kickoff and embarked on a long, 16-play drive, culminating in a one-yard run by Trey Bodenheimer. The home team ran off over eight minutes from the clock and went 72 yards in total.
Bodenheimer finished the night with 101 yards on 19 carries.
The Braves were unable to match anything to form a response and only gained 35 yards on their next two drives before punting both times.
After the second Beau Baker punt, Cayden Cassel hit Cohen Bailey on the next Norwell play for 61 yards to put the Knights up 14-0.
Bellmont committed a turnover, fumbling the ball back to Norwell and they quickly took advantage with the same combination, Cassel to Bailey, for a 21-0 score at halftime.
Attempting to find some sort of offense in the third quarter, the Braves got off to a bad start with another fumble, one of three on the night. The Bellmont offense accumulated just 34 yards of offense as the game shifted to a running clock in the second half.
The first two touchdowns of the second half for Norwell, which triggered the running clock, came within 19 seconds of each other as Cassel hit Trace Moser both times, once for 17 yards and again for nine.
Quentauris Jones had the final score for Norwell with a four-yard run to make the final score 42-0.
For the Braves, it was a night that saw the visitors gain just four first downs on 88 yards of offense. 79 of those came on the ground, with Aiden Miller gaining 45 yards on 11 carries and Dylan Velez touching the ball nine times for 26 yards.
Will Franze was 1 of 6 for nine yards. His completion went to Job Hoffman.
Trace Moser had five catches for 67 yards and his two scores for Norwell, while Cohen Bailey caught three balls for 86 yards.
The Knights will face a tough task when they play at New Haven in Week 5 after the Bulldogs won an emotional overtime game at Leo Friday. Bellmont will host Huntington North.
