The Roland-Story Norsemen made the long journey south into Lucas County on Friday night, to face off with the Chariton Chargers in Class 2A, District 7 matchup. Roland-Story entered at 2-2 overall and 1-0 in district play, while Chariton entered at 2-2 overall and 0-1 in district play.
Both sides got nothing out of their first possessions before the Norsemen made good use of a short field, with quarterback Hesston Johnson punching in a 1-yard touchdown run to put the Norsemen up 7-0 late in the first quarter. The 2nd quarter saw the Norsemen strike again, with Jonovan Wilkinson carrying the load, rushing for 59 of the drive’s 69 yards, capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run to put Roland-Story up 14-0.
The Norsemen would put points on the board in the 3rd quarter as well, as Sam Knoll knocked through a 20-yard field goal to put Roland-Story up 17-0, as the Norsemen defense continued to take the juice out of the Chargers offense. Chariton would find a spark early in the 4th quarter, as Mason Smith went up top to Drake Entrekin for a 44-yard touchdown pass to cut the score to 17-7. Following a shanked punt, the Chargers took advantage of the short field, with Brock Oxenreider punching in a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the score to 17-14. The Norsemen would then ride the back of the horse that got them there in Jonovan Wilkinson, as the junior exploded for a 46-yard touchdown run to put Roland-Story up 24-14. Two defensive possessions resulting in Boaz Clark interceptions sealed the 24-14 victory.
Roland-Story moved to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the district, while Chariton fell to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the district. Roland-Story travels north to face Iowa Falls-Alden on Friday, while Chariton hosts Albia.