By NICK McQUEEN

nmcqueen@dailynews.net

ELLIS --  Playing in his first game as the full-time starter under center for the Norton prep football team, Bluejay senior Spencer Shirk admitted he was a little hesitant to pull the trigger in Friday's season opener against Mid-Continent League foe Ellis.

Especially in a tight ball game against a team the Bluejays hadn't been able to defeat in their previous three matchups.

Instead, the Bluejays played a ball-control game, engineering several long drives, and gave a solid defensive effort in gaining a 13-0 victory to open the 2010 season.

"You always have those jitters going out in every game -- but this being the first one, probably a little more than normal," Shirk said.

Offensively, Norton (relied on sustaining drives and grinding it out with a combination of seniors Terrell Lane, Jeremy Sproul and Shirk, while the defense earned its first shutout of an MCL team since defeating Osborne 40-0 in 2008. Norton had 276 yards on the ground and 307 for the game, compared to Ellis' 126 total yards.

"Both teams played hard tonight. It was a hard-hitting game for the opening game of the season," Ellis coach Butch Hayes said. "We did some nice things defensively. We have a lot of things to work on, but I was proud of our kids' effort. I thought we played hard and we battled until the end."

The Ellis defense was on the field for 60 plays, but didn't give up anything big. Lane carried the ball 23 times for 196 yards and the game's first score in the first quarter, but the Railers kept Norton from converting on five third-and-longs.

Shirk was forced to tuck and run while rolling out four times on third down with more than 5 yards to go.

"They had a good secondary. I wasn't really seeing things like I wanted to," Shirk said. "I honestly really didn't want to take any chances  -- hate to throw an interception in a close game like that."

Defensively, Norton was one step ahead all night, even out of the gate when the Railers were knocking on the door. Ellis junior Austin Lopez took the game's opening kickoff down near the goal line, but a block-in-the-back penalty set Ellis back at the Norton 24-yard line. The Railers couldn't capitalize.

"Our defense, they love hitting and flying to the ball. They take some pride in not letting people score," Norton coach Lucas Melvin said. "Their backs were against the wall right out of the gate, and they rose up. They kept us in the game and allowed us to get to the end and finish it off."

Norton drove the ball twice into Ellis territory on its first two possessions, ending its first drive with a missed 44-yard field goal by senior Caleb Laughlin, but Lane ran up the middle for an 8-yard score on the Bluejays' second drive, a short field set up by his 29-yard punt return.

Norton ran 60 plays, compared to Ellis' 36 for the game, but couldn't muster any points on four trips inside the Ellis 30.

"We were driving the ball all night, we just couldn't finish," Shirk said. "We'll watch the film and build on what we did here."

Norton's longest drive came in the fourth quarter, when Shirk capped a 77-yard, 7-minute series with a 1-yard keeper for the game's final touchdown.

"That's something we've come close to a lot of times," Melvin said of being able to win at Ellis. "They're a very-well coached ball team and they play so hard. It's never easy, especially playing them here."

Ellis senior running back/quarterback Jacob Kinderknecht was busy in the Railers' offense. He carried the ball 13 times for 101 yards and threw two passes, splitting time at QB with junior starter Riley Hunsicker. Hayes said they'll continue to work with the two-quarterback system, using Kinderknecht in shotgun.

"Jacob is a threat as a runner and he can throw the ball a little bit. When we go to that gun formation, we like to have him back there and let his athleticism take over a little bit,"  Hayes said. "That's something we'll continue to play with as the season goes on. It's Game 1 --  long way to go."