Tysen Norton’s 140-yard effort leads Springstead past Fivay

The rising sophomore had a breakout night against the Falcons

HUDSON, FLORIDA- The 2022 season was a breakout campaign for the Springstead Eagles football program. 

Springstead went 9-2 last fall, reaching the postseason for the first time since 2019 and the Eagles return many starters from last year. On Monday night, the Eagles showcased why they should be a Class 6A, District 5 contender once again this fall. 

Rising sophomore quarterback Tysen Norton rushed for 140 yards on eight carries, scored two touchdowns to lead Springstead past Fivay 38-20 in spring football action. 

“Yeah, we put up some points and made some big splash plays,” Springstead head coach Mike Garofano said. “I thought both of our quarterbacks did a very nice job. Tysen Norton, a freshman, came in and made some splash plays. Got us some big chunk yards and even threw the ball when he needed to.” 

Both teams came out stiff defensively, but the Eagles got on the board just past midway through the first quarter. Springstead opened up the scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run by running back Connor McCazzio to go up 7-0. 

Early in the second quarter, the Eagles added a 22-yard field goal and on Fivay’s ensuing possession, they would find some success against Springstead’s defense. Fivay quarterback David Acosta connected on a 48-yard pass to wide receiver Samuel Monfre and then running back Jamarian Miller scored on a 1-yard plunge. 

Norton’s playmaking ability went on full display on the Eagles’ next possession when the signal caller took the zone read option 66-yards to pay dirt to give Springstead a 17-7 lead. Just before intermission, the Eagles tacked on another touchdown when fullback PJ Class punched it in from four yards out to enter the half up 24-7. 

Fivay’s defense was opportunistic all night long and got home on a blitz, forcing a fumble by Springstead quarterback Kasey Kortman, getting the ball back in the third period. The Falcons would eventually capitalize on the turnover when quarterback Ayden Wallace found Monfre on a 40-yard scoring strike, making it 24-14. 

The Falcons’ best opportunity to cut the lead into single digits was after Springstead missed on a 42-yard field goal attempt, but couldn’t convert on the next set of downs. That’s when the Eagles would pull away and Norton would find the endzone again, this time on a 20-yard scamper just before the end of the third quarter. 

To close out the scoring for Springstead, McCazzio for good measure added a 3-yard touchdown run to put the Eagles up 38-14. Fivay scored a touchdown in the waning seconds of the game. 

“We have a really good rotation on the defensive line,” Garofano added about the defense. “We have (Michael Rizzuto), Nick Diaz, Nick Franklin, Brenden Hompker. All those guys are relentless on the defensive line coming after you. I felt like we were a little bit flat footed on both of (Fivay) touchdown drives. We kind of got sucked in a little bit in the secondary, so we’ll learn from that mistake.”

Andy Villamarzo can be reached at andyvillamarzo@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @Andy_Villamarzo. 


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Andy Villamarzo
ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.