Todd Rose/Escanaba Daily press photo) Norway’s Wyatt Spade (44) hands the ball off to teammate Aiden Richards (12) during a game against Rapid River on Thursday in Rapid River. Norway won 76-18.

RAPID RIVER — The Norway Knights lanced the Rapid River Rockets 76-18 Thursday night in Rapid River in a Great Lakes Eight Conference match-up.

“Tonight was a good win for our kids,” said Norway coach Scott Popp. “They came out, and they fought. They wanted to win it.”

The night was a rough one for the Rockets as they continued to deal with injuries from weeks prior and new ones from the game against Norway.

Popp — having been in a similar situation not too long ago with the Knights — sympathized with the Rockets’ situation.

“We’ve had a ton of injuries the last couple weeks,” he said. “… It’s been non-stop. Knowing that Rapid River has the same thing going on. We know how that is, and it’s not fun to deal with.”

The Knights were first on the board with a four-yard effort from Eastyn Dwight 3:05 into the first quarter. Just under three minutes later, Norway found the end zone again on an 80-yard punt return from Austyn Dwight.

The Rockets scored on a unique — and unplanned — play to put six on the board on their next drive as, first, Blake Lundquist and Carter Johnson connected on a long pass. The ball slipped from Johnson’s grasp and went tumbling toward the end zone. Connor Kee, with the heads-up move, fell on the fumbled ball for the score.

For the Knights, there is one game left, and Popp says he hopes the team can improve their pass defense in preparation.

“We’ve got to work on our pass coverage. That is something we have lacked in the last couple weeks,” he said. “We’ve just got to get better for it. We have one game left of the year, and let’s just see what happens.

“Otherwise, our hitting, our physicality, have been there the whole time. I think that’s part of the reason we have so many injuries, too, because the kids just go all out.”

Despite what the scoreboard read, the Rockets never gave up throughout the game, supporting each other all 48 minutes on the sideline. For coach Steve Ostrenga, these are the qualities he loves to see in a team.

“You know, we tell them you can’t look at the scoreboard. You’ve got to give the effort. And that’s what we’re looking for,” Ostrenga commented.

The Rockets finish up the regular season with homecoming next Friday against the Superior Central Cougars, while Norway (4-4) hosts the North Dickin