Oct 17, 2025 3 min read

IRWIN – Tristian Josephic kicked a 29-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to cap a late comeback as Norwin edged Canon-McMillan 24-21 in a Class 6A Quad County Conference game Friday night.

Norwin (3-2, 6-3) clinched its first playoff berth since 2007. Canon-McMillan could have clinched a postseason berth with a win. The Big Macs, who can still make the playoffs, are 2-3 in the conference and 4-5 overall.

Norwin trailed 21-14 early in the fourth quarter but tied the score with 7:07 remaining on the second of two TD runs by quarterback Tristyn Tavares. After three consecutive possessions ended with punts, Norwin moved from its 24 to the Canon-Mac 8-yard line in the closing minutes. A sack by the Big Macs’ T.J. Sabatucci back to the 12 set up Josephic’s game-winning kick.

Canon-McMillan’s first possession of the game was a 17-play drive that ate more than nine minutes off the clock but the Big Macs had a 38-yard field goal attempt sail wide.

Norwin then drove 79 yards for a touchdown. Tavares scampered 51 yards for a touchdown on a fourth-down play to give the Knights a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.

Canon-Mac responded with a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive. A long pass moved the Big Macs to the Norwin 30-yard line, and on the next play Braelon Wingfield ran 24 yards to the six. On the ensuing play, fullback Bryce Collin ran into the end zone off left tackle to tie the score at 7-7.

Norwin fumbled the ensuing kickoff and C-M’s Ryan Blinn recovered the loose ball at the Norwin 31. On the first play from scrimmage, C-M quarterback Ty Jansma found a wide-open Ethan Campoli behind the secondary down the left sideline for a touchdown that put the Big Macs up 14-7.

Norwin tied the score on its first possession of the second half. A 20-yard C-M punt set the Knights up at midfield. A Tavares scramble to the C-M one-yard line set up a plunge by Giovannia Rothrauff that made the score 14-14.

Canon-McMillan embarked on another long drive to regain the lead. The Big Macs went 83 yards in 16 plays, culminated by a three-yard scoring run by Wingfield that made it 21-14 with 11:49 remaining. The key play in the drive was C-M converting a fourth-and-inches at the Norwin 25.

The Knights responded again as Tavares capped a drive with his second TD run, this one from two yards that made it 21-21 with 7:07 to play.

Jansma completed 14 of 23 passes for 179 yards. Tavares also was 14 of 23, netting 118 yards. Tavares rushed for 126 yards on 15 carries.