A trio of sophomores helped lead Baldwin to a 21-10 victory over Norwin last Friday.

Davante “Hollywood” Jones, Andrew Sharp, and Keith Mincin played key roles in the first win of the season for the football team, and could represent the future for the Fighting Highlanders football team. 

Sharp and Jones both said Baldwin’s successful onside kick at the beginning of the second half was the momentum changer in the game. Jones recovered the onside kick. 

“We planned for the onside kick all week in practice,” Sharp said. “We 100 percent thought we were going to get it.”

Later in the third quarter, Mincin blocked a Norwin punt. Junior Victor Iaquinta returned it for a Baldwin touchdown. 

Two plays after the blocked punt, Norwin snapped the ball over their quarterback’s head. Senior Nick Petrilli forced the ball loose as the quarterback dove toward it, and Mincin scooped up the ball and scored. 

Sharp ran in a two-point conversion, and Baldwin led 14-10.

“This was the first time we led all year,” Mincin said. “This was very exciting for us as a team, but we knew the game wasn’t over yet.”

Baldwin added another touchdown, scored by senior Kam Allen. Norwin had one more drive, but Jones intercepted a pass deep in Baldwin territory to secure the win.

“It felt great to win in front of the home crowd,” Sharp said. 

The team’s next game is on Friday at Hempfield.