The Norwalk football team plays their home opener tonight at Mineart Field, meeting Sioux City East for the first time ever on the gridiron. The Week 2 matchup kicks off at 7:00 p.m. and can be heard live on kniakrls.com (KNIA3), starting with pregame coverage at 6:30.

The Warriors and Black Raiders opened the season with contrasting outcomes. Norwalk lost 28-14 at Warren County rival Indianola last Friday while East dominated cross-town rival Sioux City North 38-3 last Thursday.

Norwalk coach Paul Patterson tells KNIA Sports that the Black Raiders bring back a lot of talent from last year’s 6-4 team that lost to eventual Class 5A runner-up West Des Moines Valley, 31-28, in the first round of the playoffs. Patterson describes East as “big, fast and physical,” noting that “they will look like football players when they get off the bus.” Led by senior Jacob Breyfogle, East’s linebackers average about 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, according to Patterson, and the Black Raiders are big up front.

The Warriors had some bright spots against Indianola, most notably Eli Robbins’ 99-yard kickoff return in the first quarter and Luke Brewer’s 69-yard TD reception on a short throw from James Hatlevig. Overall, though, Norwalk was plagued by poor field position and was outperformed on third and fourth down by the Indians.

One of this week’s biggest keys, Patterson says, will be winning the field position battle and not starting as many drives inside their own 30-yard line. The Warriors must also tackle better in space to get East off the field on third down, along with executing consistently in all facets of the game while playing with a lot of physicality.

Playing from behind, Norwalk finished last week’s game with only 14 rushing attempts while passing 32 times. Patterson would like to see a more balanced offensive attack against East and more flow on each drive. Hatlevig completed 19-of-32 passes at Indianola for 202 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.