Football reaches milestone, 367 from home

The Norwich football season came to an end with a 62-10 loss to Delaware Valley College in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Div. III Tournament.

The Cadets were outscored 34-0 in the second half of their first-ever NCAA playoff game.

"It's tough to lose by that wide a margin, but I am still proud of what we accomplished as a team this year," said Rob Sturgis, 21, a communications major from Holden, Mass.

Despite the loss, returning players are using this game as a building block towards next year.

"They are where we want to be as a program," said Kris Sabourin, 20, an accounting major from Georgia, Vt. "This offseason will be about getting to that national level."

Norwich was as close as 21-10 before Delaware Valley put its foot on the gas pedal.

"Once they got rolling we couldn't stop them," Sturgis said. "Their experience in this situation showed up and we had no answer for them."

Senior Adrian Danztler, 21, a communications major from Mitchellville, Md., said despite the loss he would not trade this experience for anything.

"This whole week was crazy with the NCAA hype," said Dantzler. "We were fired up to play a great team in front of a large crowd."

"This loss does not take away from what we accomplished this year at all," said Dan Gogan, 20, a criminal justice major from Keansbury, N.J. "To start 0-3 and still make the playoffs shows what type of team we were."

This is the second time in three years Norwich rebounded from a 0-3 start to win its conference.

Sturgis said, "The experience from the first 0-3 starts helped this team regroup and beat every team in their conference."

"Being 0-3 and in the same position in 2009 helped us keep our confidence," said Sturgis. "Now next year the team can build off this NCAA appearance and take it a step further."

"That was the best team in the East region and we aren't that far away from being at that level," said Sabourin. "You can never have too much experience so we will take all that we can get."

Playing in a postseason game will get Norwich more exposure and attract more recruits, said players.

"Recruits in high school see that we are in the top 32 teams in the country and that could get them to want to play here," said Gogan. "That will only help this program get better and better in the coming years."

While the future looks bright for the Cadets, this loss ends a successful four-year run from the seniors on the current team.

"Going out with a loss hurts, but we achieved a lot of great things over my four years playing football here," Sturgis said. "We played hard every game and that is all you can ask for."

Since the beginning of the 2008 season when these seniors were freshmen, the Cadets have gone 25-18 including two conference titles, a bowl game and a NCAA playoff appearance.

"We have one of the most successful senior classes in Norwich football history and we are extremely proud of that," said Dantzler. "The outcome from the Delaware Valley College game cannot take away from all the milestones we accomplished."

Sabourin also expressed how much this senior class has meant to the program.

"They have been great for the program," Sabourin said. "They brought a winning attitude each day to practice and that spread to the whole team. It is on next year's seniors to practice and play the same way as these seniors."

And the winning tradition does not wait until August, for the returning players it beings right away in the weight room.

"We know winning and losing beings in the weight room and that is where you will find the majority of the team," said Gogan. "That Delaware Valley College game left a bad taste in our mouth and that is all the motivation we need to get ready for next year."