The Green Knights rolled up 23 second-quarter points to take a 3-0 lead to a 26-0 halftime advantage.
St. Norbert got on the scoreboard late in the first quarter when Mason Levake connected on a 36-yard field goal with 2:23 left in the period.
The Green Knights started the second quarter by cashing in on prime field position, needing to travel just 20 yards to score on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Lyon to Austin Miller with 12:25 left. St. Norbert scored on its next possession when it tallied on a 10-play, 57-yard drive with a 40-yard field goal from Levake with 6:17 to go.
Things escalated quickly, with Sam Barnett scoring he scooped up a fumble for a 38-yard touchdown return and a 20-0 lead with 2:21 to go before halftime. The Green Knights forced a three-and-out series and marched 77 yards on only six plays to score on a Lyon to Mitch Van Vooren touchdown aerial of 10 yards with 1:02 left in the quarter and a 26-0 lead.
Rockford had a long kickoff return to open the third quarter and converted on a 23-yard field goal by Kaden Finnestad with 11:16 left.
St. Norbert scored on the fourth quarter’s first play from scrimmage when Will Darden went over the goal line from 4 yards out. The Green Knights then got an interception when David Haswelwander pilfered a Rockford pass and scored two players later on a Patrick Oden 18-yard run for a 40-3 lead with 13:21 to go.
The Green Knights outgained Rockford 331-133 in total offense. Lyon completed 19 of 35 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Van Vooren caught six passes for 77 yards and one touchdown, while Miller caught five passes for 37 yards and one touchdown. Oden rushed 14 times for 56 yards and one touchdown.
Jaelen Ray led Rockford with 74 passing yards, completing 17 of 28 passes with two interceptions. Curtis Hosea rushed six times for 23 yards.
Kyle Santos totaled 11 tackles to top the St. Norbert defense. Barnett and Brett Boelkow had five tackles each. Jim Feeney joined Haswelander with recording interceptions, while Barnett, Aiden Gomez and Owen Kooima recovered fumbles as the St. Norbert defense posted five takeaways
