The Hartwick College football team will look to earn its first Empire 8 victory this season when it travels to Norwich University (Vt.) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Hartwick (4-3, 0-3) has won two straight, including a 50-12 victory over Mount Ida last weekend. Norwich (2-5, 0-3) lost its last game, 38-7, to St. John Fisher.

Senior wide receiver Matt Willis was named the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Week for Hartwick following the victory against Mount Ida. Willis is fourth in NCAA Division III in scoring with 96 points (16 touchdowns) and fifth with 125.9 yards per game. He leads the team with 46 catches for 881 yards.

Sophomores Richard Sands (17 catches, 235 yards) and Joe Rocco (15-175) are the other two top receivers for the Hawks.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]Sophomore running back Lindy Crea leads D-III in all-purpose yards, averaging 211.6 per game. Crea has 897 yards and 12 touchdowns on 128 carries. He also has 14 catches for 158 yards and returned 17 kickoffs for 426 yards and a touchdown.

Senior Tyler DeMulder (Unatego) has rushed the ball 29 times for 205 yards and two touchdowns.

Freshman quarterback Jason Boltus heads Hartwick’s offense, which is ranked 16th in D-III in total offense and 24th in passing offense. Boltus has completed 117 of 224 attempts for 1,763 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Hartwick’s defense has also solidified, allowing an average of 254.5 yards per game. Freshman linebacker Frank Vozos has a team-high 51 tackles (28 solo). Sophomore linebacker Paul DeSapio has 48 tackles and junior Jeff Dittman has contributed 43.

Norwich has relied on a balanced attack this season, rushing for 792 yards and passing for 777. Freshman Darnell Jackson is the top runner with 300 yards and three touchdowns on 73 carries.

Junior quarterback Marcus Adames had completed 64 of 133 attempts for 777 yards and six touchdowns. Andreas Craig is the top receiver with 16 catches for 208 yards.

Hartwick leads the all-time series, 5-2.