Week 1, 2026

played in Norfolk, VA

69 degrees, fair, 10 mph wind

Hartford Whalers	3	0	0	0	-	3
Norfolk Vipers	0	10	7	3	-	20

Scoring Summary
1Q: 02:57 HAR - Michael Bentley 43 field goal
2Q: 08:52 NFK - Dustin Hastings 8 pass from Grant Bechtel (Cornell Burgess extra point)
2Q: 03:21 NFK - Cornell Burgess 19 field goal
3Q: 06:38 NFK - Kenyon Lenihan 10 pass from Grant Bechtel (Cornell Burgess extra point)
4Q: 00:50 NFK - Cornell Burgess 47 field goal

Scoring Summary
1Q: 02:57 HAR - Michael Bentley 43 field goal
2Q: 08:52 NFK - Dustin Hastings 8 pass from Grant Bechtel (Cornell Burgess extra point)
2Q: 03:21 NFK - Cornell Burgess 19 field goal
3Q: 06:38 NFK - Kenyon Lenihan 10 pass from Grant Bechtel (Cornell Burgess extra point)
4Q: 00:50 NFK - Cornell Burgess 47 field goal

Team Statistics HAR NFK
Record 0-1 1-0
First Downs 10 16
- by Rushing 3 4
- by Passing 7 10
- by Penalty 0 2
Total Net Yards 287 293
- Offensive Plays 64 65
- Yards per Play 4.48 4.51
Net Rushing Yards 54 132
- Rushing Attempts 15 42
- Yards per Rush 3.60 3.14
Net Passing Yards 233 161
- Att./Comp./Intrcpt 48 - 30 - 0 22 - 15 - 0
- Gross Passing Yards 237 170
- Sacks/Yards Lost 1/4 1/9
- Yards per Pass Play 4.76 7.00
Fumbles/Lost 3/2 2/1
3rd Down Conversions 4/18 6/16
- Avg. YtG on 3rd Down 8.6 6.9
4th Down Conversions 2/5 0/0
Penalties/Yards 13/92 8/73
Punt Returns/Yards 4/32 0/0
Kick Returns/Yards 2/57 2/35
Interception Ret./Yards 0/0 0/0
2pt Conversions 0/0 0/0
Red Zone Visits 1 3
- Red Zone TDs/FGs 0/0 2/1
Avg. Drive Start OWN 28 OWN 33
Time of Possession 27:46 32:14

Team Statistics	HAR	NFK
Record	0-1	1-0
First Downs	10	16
- by Rushing	3	4
- by Passing	7	10
- by Penalty	0	2
Total Net Yards	287	293
- Offensive Plays	64	65
- Yards per Play	4.48	4.51
Net Rushing Yards	54	132
- Rushing Attempts	15	42
- Yards per Rush	3.60	3.14
Net Passing Yards	233	161
- Att./Comp./Intrcpt	48 - 30 - 0	22 - 15 - 0
- Gross Passing Yards	237	170
- Sacks/Yards Lost	1/4	1/9
- Yards per Pass Play	4.76	7.00
Fumbles/Lost	3/2	2/1
3rd Down Conversions	4/18	6/16
- Avg. YtG on 3rd Down	8.6	6.9
4th Down Conversions	2/5	0/0
Penalties/Yards	13/92	8/73
Punt Returns/Yards	4/32	0/0
Kick Returns/Yards	2/57	2/35
Interception Ret./Yards	0/0	0/0
2pt Conversions	0/0	0/0
Red Zone Visits	1	3
- Red Zone TDs/FGs	0/0	2/1
Avg. Drive Start	OWN 28	OWN 33
Time of Possession	27:46	32:14

Drive Charts

Hartford Whalers
Quar	Began	Poss	From	Plays	Yards	Result
1	13:36	2:04	OPP 49	5	18	Downs
1	6:58	4:07	OWN 20	7	54	Field Goal
2	14:19	1:20	OWN 20	4	-9	Punt
2	8:45	2:12	OWN 20	3	4	Punt
2	3:14	2:17	OWN 34	7	0	Punt
3	15:00	4:40	OWN 20	9	41	Punt
3	6:30	3:22	OWN 20	6	18	Punt
3	1:14	2:04	OPP 34	3	-1	Punt
4	12:40	0:07	OWN 13	1	10	Fumble
4	11:58	1:06	OWN 18	3	9	Punt
4	7:01	2:36	OWN 5	9	78	Downs
4	2:30	0:33	OWN 42	4	-5	Downs
4	0:42	0:42	OWN 43	4	16	Game

Norfolk Vipers
Quar	Began	Poss	From	Plays	Yards	Result
1	15:00	1:24	OWN 21	3	-5	Punt
1	11:32	4:34	OWN 31	8	29	Punt
1	2:51	3:32	OWN 29	6	24	Punt
2	12:59	1:42	OWN 31	3	-5	Punt
2	11:17	2:32	OPP 25	5	25	Touchdown
2	6:33	3:19	OWN 26	9	72	Field Goal
2	0:57	0:57	OWN 18	4	12	Half
3	10:20	3:50	OWN 20	8	80	Touchdown
3	3:08	1:54	OWN 6	3	6	Punt
4	14:10	1:30	OWN 20	3	6	Punt
4	12:33	0:35	OPP 23	2	5	Fumble
4	10:52	3:51	OWN 29	6	22	Punt
4	4:25	1:55	OWN 17	3	-5	Punt
4	1:57	1:15	OPP 37	3	7	Field Goal

Game MVP: Grant Bechtel, Norfolk Vipers

Rushing Statistics

Hartford	Att	Yards	Avg	LG	10+	TD
Everett Levine	9	32	3.56	19	2	0
Edgar Page	6	22	3.67	10	1	0

Norfolk	Att	Yards	Avg	LG	10+
Terrell Hanks	22	82	3.73	42	2
Leslie McFarlane	15	27	1.80	6	0
Grant Bechtel	3	17	5.67	7	0
Kenyon Lenihan	1	4	4.00	4	0
Grant Rumph	1	2	2.00	2	0

Passing Statistics

Hartford	Att	Comp	Yards	Sk/Yd	TD	LG	Int	Rate
Donnie Johnston	48	30	237	1/4	0	47	0	74.7

Norfolk	Att	Comp	Yards	Sk/Yd	TD	LG	Int	Rate
Grant Bechtel	22	15	170	1/9	2	33	0	121.4

Receiving Statistics

Hartford	Catch	Targ	Yards	Avg	YAC	LG
TE Courtney Poliska	8	10	50	6.25	1	15
WR William Meier	7	10	67	9.57	0	22
WR Walter Malone	4	9	23	5.75	0	13
WR Kerry Fleischer	3	7	47	15.67	13	47
WR Byron Nicholson	3	4	24	8.00	0	14
RB Everett Levine	2	3	15	7.50	7	8
TE Edward Pruitt	2	3	3	1.50	0	4
RB Edgar Page	1	1	8	8.00	0	8
WR Mickey Blackwell	0	1	0	0.00	0	0

Norfolk	Catch	Targ	Yards	Avg	YAC	LG	TD
WR Dustin Hastings	3	3	52	17.33	25	33	1
WR Scott Maru	3	4	32	10.67	4	15	0
RB Leslie McFarlane	2	2	5	2.50	4	3	0
WR Ronald Kramer	2	3	18	9.00	1	14	0
WR Kenyon Lenihan	2	4	34	17.00	8	24	1
FB Carl Platt	1	1	13	13.00	14	13	0
TE Bryan Mangum	1	2	6	6.00	5	6	0
TE Wayne Matthews	1	2	10	10.00	0	10	0
RB Terrell Hanks	0	1	0	0.00	0	0	0

Interception Statistics

Hartford	Ints	Yards	Avg	TD

Norfolk	Ints	Yards	Avg	TD

Fumble Statistics

Hartford	Fumb	Recov	Force
Kerry Fleischer	1	0	0
Everett Levine	1	0	0
William Meier	1	0	0
Pat Foley	0	1	0
Darren Lyon	0	1	0
Harvey Gonzalez	0	0	1
Zach Mogolov	0	0	1

Norfolk	Fumb	Recov	Force
Grant Bechtel	1	1	0
Leslie McFarlane	1	0	0
Buddy Huffman	0	1	0
Paul Dunphy	0	1	0
Arnie Hagood	0	0	1
Carl Platt	0	0	1
Bruce Williams	0	0	1

Punting Statistics

Hartford	Punt	Yards	Avg	Net	LG	In20
Walter Hardy	7	305	43.6	37.9	56	2

Norfolk	Punt	Yards	Avg	Net	LG	In20
Craig Stuckey	8	367	45.9	36.9	54	1

Kicking Statistics

Hartford	FGs	40+Yd	50+Yd	LG	PAT
Michael Bentley	1/1	1/1	0/0	43	0/0

Norfolk	FGs	40+Yd	50+Yd	LG	PAT
Cornell Burgess	2/2	1/1	0/0	47	2/2

Punt Return Statistics

Hartford	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
William Meier	3	29	9.7	0
Kerry Fleischer	1	3	3.0	0

Norfolk	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD

Kick Return Statistics

Hartford	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Kerry Fleischer	2	57	28.5	0

Norfolk	Ret	Yards	Avg	TD
Terrell Hanks	2	35	17.5	0

Defensive Statistics

Hartford	Tack	Asst	Sack	RPlay	PPlay
ILB Cris Seal	12	0	0.0	37	20
S Richard Guthrie	8	5	0.0	38	20
DT Darren Lyon	4	2	0.0	23	14
OLB Phil Fordyce	4	2	0.0	37	22
DT Ryan Kromer	3	1	0.0	33	15
CB Tom Kerr	3	0	0.0	25	17
CB Harry Crane	2	0	1.0	30	17
S Orlando Brisset	2	1	0.0	23	17
DE Isaac McQuaig	2	1	0.0	11	12
OLB Bert Griffith	2	1	0.0	15	4
DT Nick Baerg	2	0	0.0	26	10
DE Harvey Gonzalez	2	0	0.0	31	11
ILB Zach Mogolov	2	0	0.0	7	4
CB Warren Blake	2	0	0.0	15	9
S Gabe Villarrial	2	0	0.0	19	11
ILB Pat Foley	1	2	0.0	5	3
OLB Gus Hammond	1	0	0.0	5	1
CB Howard Beeman	1	0	0.0	33	17
DE Marco Sutter	0	1	0.0	16	10

Norfolk	Tack	Asst	Sack	RPlay	PPlay
S Cornelius Barber	6	3	0.0	9	33
CB Wendell Ferguson	6	0	0.0	12	43
S Paul Dunphy	5	0	0.0	10	36
OLB Rob Peterson	4	1	0.0	7	15
S Buddy Huffman	3	1	0.0	9	30
OLB Russell Thamilarasan	3	0	0.0	7	16
CB Bruce Williams	3	0	0.0	7	17
CB Patrick Patton	3	0	0.0	9	37
DE Johnnie Lincoln	2	0	0.5	8	22
DT Bart Daniels	2	2	0.0	11	31
CB Jorge Meacham	2	0	0.0	5	30
DE Oscar Ranney	1	2	0.5	11	34
OLB Vince Champion	1	2	0.0	7	22
ILB Zach McMeel	1	1	0.0	13	29
ILB Clyde Marsh	1	0	0.0	2	21
S Lamont Rattay	1	0	0.0	6	25
OLB Rob Dawson	1	0	0.0	3	4
DT Trent Garrison	1	0	0.0	5	25
DT Brad Franklin	0	1	0.0	11	23

Pass Rush Statistics

Hartford	Sack	Hurry	PPlay
CB Harry Crane	1.0	0	17
DE Deone Dorff	0.0	1	13
DE Marco Sutter	0.0	1	10

Norfolk	Sack	Block	Hurry	Knock	PPlay
DE Oscar Ranney	0.5	0	0	2	34
DE Johnnie Lincoln	0.5	0	0	0	22
DT Trent Garrison	0.0	1	1	0	25
DE Jumbo Winslett	0.0	0	2	0	19

Pass Defense Statistics

Hartford	Caught	Defnsd	PPlay
CB Tom Kerr	4	0	17
OLB Phil Fordyce	3	0	22
S Richard Guthrie	2	0	20
OLB Bert Griffith	2	0	4
CB Howard Beeman	1	2	17
ILB Zach Mogolov	1	0	4
ILB Cris Seal	1	0	20
CB Warren Blake	1	0	9

Norfolk	Caught	Defnsd	PPlay
S Cornelius Barber	6	0	33
OLB Rob Peterson	4	0	15
CB Wendell Ferguson	3	0	43
S Paul Dunphy	3	0	36
CB Jorge Meacham	2	3	30
CB Patrick Patton	2	1	37
S Buddy Huffman	2	1	30
OLB Russell Thamilarasan	2	0	16
OLB Vince Champion	1	2	22
S Lamont Rattay	1	1	25
DE Johnnie Lincoln	1	0	22
ILB Clyde Marsh	1	0	21
OLB Rob Dawson	1	0	4
DT Trent Garrison	1	0	25

Blocking Statistics

Hartford	KeyBl	BlOpp	RPly	SckA	PPly
Darryl Delgado	3	4	12	0	43
Artie Keating	0	5	12	0	37
Rex O'Connor	0	2	9	0	42
Craig Codeke	0	1	14	1	45
Max Lowe	0	1	3	0	6
Dwight Robinson	0	1	7	0	11
Jerry Henderson	0	1	6	0	17

Norfolk	KeyBl	BlOpp	Panc	RPly	SckA	PPly
Hardy Stephens	3	6	2	33	1	17
Kerry Covington	2	3	0	33	0	18
Randy Hernandez	1	4	0	21	0	14
Riddick Leak	0	7	0	30	0	18
Bruce Mueller	0	6	0	28	0	15
Robbie Shapiro	0	6	0	21	0	10
Austin Boren	0	4	0	30	0	15
Darnell Ritter	0	2	0	14	0	8
Carl Platt	0	1	0	15	0	12
Wayne Matthews	0	1	0	15	0	13

Special Teams Statistics

Hartford	Tackles	STPlays
Cris Seal	1	12
Harry Crane	1	11
Gus Hammond	0	23
Edgar Page	0	21
Warren Blake	0	17
Kerry Fleischer	0	15
Edward Pruitt	0	15
Jerry Henderson	0	11
Courtney Poliska	0	9
Bert Griffith	0	9
Artie Keating	0	8
Max Lowe	0	8
Dwight Robinson	0	8
Byron Nicholson	0	8
Mickey Blackwell	0	8
Ricardo Enzi	0	8
Andy O'Pope	0	8
Pat Foley	0	7
Walter Hardy	0	7
Marco Sutter	0	7
Tom Kerr	0	6
Bennie Palmer	0	6
Nick Baerg	0	5
William Meier	0	5
Ryan Kromer	0	5
Zach Mogolov	0	5
Orlando Brisset	0	3
Michael Bentley	0	3
Darren Lyon	0	3
Seth Saylor	0	3
Everett Levine	0	2
Harvey Gonzalez	0	2
Richard Guthrie	0	2
Deone Dorff	0	2
Howard Beeman	0	1
Lawrence Moskowitz	0	1
Phil Fordyce	0	1

Norfolk	Tackles	STPlays
Leslie McFarlane	2	17
Carl Platt	1	22
Paul Dunphy	1	15
Arnie Hagood	1	12
Patrick Patton	1	7
Wayne Matthews	0	17
Rob Peterson	0	15
Scott Maru	0	14
Terrell Hanks	0	14
Cornelius Barber	0	12
Hardy Stephens	0	10
Darnell Ritter	0	10
Wendell Ferguson	0	9
Grant Rumph	0	9
Craig Stuckey	0	8
Robbie Shapiro	0	8
Cornell Burgess	0	7
Johnnie Lincoln	0	7
Kerry Covington	0	7
Zach McMeel	0	7
Rob Dawson	0	7
Riddick Leak	0	6
Russell Thamilarasan	0	4
Ronald Kramer	0	4
Austin Boren	0	4
Brad Franklin	0	4
Randy Reeves	0	3
Lamont Rattay	0	3
Vince Champion	0	2
Bruce Williams	0	2
Bryan Mangum	0	2
Quinn Wilkins	0	2
Bart Daniels	0	1
Clyde Marsh	0	1
Oscar Ranney	0	1
Trent Garrison	0	1
Buddy Huffman	0	1

Directional Rushing Statistics

Distance	Att	Yards	Avg
Left	6	25	4.2
Middle	2	4	2.0
Right	7	25	3.6
None	0	0	0.0

Distance	Att	Yards	Avg
Left	10	59	5.9
Middle	24	61	2.5
Right	8	12	1.5
None	0	0	0.0

Detailed Passing Statistics

Hartford	Att	Cmp	20+	BdTh	Drop	Dfns	Hurr	Knck	Intc
Donnie Johnston	48	30	2	3	3	8	3	2	0

Norfolk	Att	Cmp	20+	BdTh	Drop	Dfns	Hurr	Knck	Intc
Grant Bechtel	22	15	2	2	1	2	2	0	0

Directional Passing Statistics

Distance	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg
Screen	0	0	0	0.0
Short (0-8 Yds)	31	22	111	3.6
Medium (9-18 Yds)	13	7	79	6.1
Long (19+ Yds)	4	1	47	11.8

Distance	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg
Screen	5	4	25	5.0
Short (0-8 Yds)	8	5	61	7.6
Medium (9-18 Yds)	7	5	60	8.6
Long (19+ Yds)	2	1	24	12.0

Detailed Receiving Statistics

Hartford	Targt	Caugt	Dropd	Yards	20+	PPlay
WR William Meier	10	7	1	67	1	31
TE Courtney Poliska	10	8	0	50	0	39
WR Walter Malone	9	4	1	23	0	30
WR Kerry Fleischer	7	3	1	47	1	21
WR Byron Nicholson	4	3	0	24	0	27
RB Everett Levine	3	2	0	15	0	27
TE Edward Pruitt	3	2	0	3	0	15
RB Edgar Page	1	1	0	8	0	20
WR Mickey Blackwell	1	0	0	0	0	8

Norfolk	Targt	Caugt	Dropd	Yards	20+	PPlay
WR Scott Maru	4	3	0	32	0	7
WR Kenyon Lenihan	4	2	0	34	1	10
WR Dustin Hastings	3	3	0	52	1	13
WR Ronald Kramer	3	2	1	18	0	13
RB Leslie McFarlane	2	2	0	5	0	8
TE Bryan Mangum	2	1	0	6	0	11
TE Wayne Matthews	2	1	0	10	0	13
FB Carl Platt	1	1	0	13	0	12
RB Terrell Hanks	1	0	0	0	0	14

Red-Zone Rushing Statistics

Hartford	Att	Yards	Avg	Overall Avg

Norfolk	Att	Yards	Avg	Overall Avg
Terrell Hanks	5	10	2.00	3.73

Red-Zone Passing Statistics

Hartford	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg/Att	Overall Avg
Donnie Johnston	4	2	3	0.75	4.94

Norfolk	Att	Comp	Yards	Avg/Att	Overall Avg
Grant Bechtel	4	3	28	7.00	7.73

Red-Zone Receiving Statistics

Hartford	Target	Catch	Yards	Avg/Targ	Overall Avg
TE Courtney Poliska	2	1	2	1.00	5.00
WR Kerry Fleischer	1	0	0	0.00	6.71
WR William Meier	1	1	1	1.00	6.70

Norfolk	Target	Catch	Yards	Avg/Targ	Overall Avg
TE Wayne Matthews	2	1	10	5.00	5.00
WR Dustin Hastings	1	1	8	8.00	17.33
WR Kenyon Lenihan	1	1	10	10.00	8.50

Third Down Rushing Statistics

Hartford	Rushes	Conversions
Edgar Page	2	1

Norfolk	Rushes	Conversions
Terrell Hanks	3	0
Leslie McFarlane	2	0
Grant Bechtel	1	1
Grant Rumph	1	0

Third Down Passing Statistics

Hartford	Att	Comp	Conversions
Donnie Johnston	16	11	3

Norfolk	Att	Comp	Conversions
Grant Bechtel	9	5	5

Third Down Receiving Statistics

Hartford	Targ	Catch	Conversions
WR William Meier	4	3	2
WR Walter Malone	4	3	1
TE Courtney Poliska	3	2	0
WR Kerry Fleischer	2	1	0
WR Byron Nicholson	2	2	0
RB Everett Levine	1	0	0

Norfolk	Targ	Catch	Conversions
WR Kenyon Lenihan	3	1	1
WR Dustin Hastings	2	2	2
WR Ronald Kramer	2	1	1
WR Scott Maru	1	1	1
TE Wayne Matthews	1	0	0

Section Attendance
Stadium 80,300 (82,700 capacity)
Upper Deck 20,300 (21,000)
End Zone 15,200 (15,200)
Mezzanine 8,700 (8,700)
Sideline Seats 13,400 (13,400)
Club Seats 19,900 (19,900)
Luxury Boxes 2,800 (4,500)

Section	Attendance
Stadium	80,300 (82,700 capacity)
Upper Deck	20,300 (21,000)
End Zone	15,200 (15,200)
Mezzanine	8,700 (8,700)
Sideline Seats	13,400 (13,400)
Club Seats	19,900 (19,900)
Luxury Boxes	2,800 (4,500)