Cardinal defense holds off the Eagles

[caption id="attachment_12475" align="alignleft" width="270"] CONNER SHAW[/caption]

by Scott Watson for the Mirror-Reporter

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Cardinals football team got its season off to a good start Friday night in downing the West Hancock Eagles 24-16 in non-district play. The Cardinal defense was all brick and mortar, as the Eagles struggled with consistency on the offensive front.

The first quarter of the season saw two teams still searching for a rhythm – two groups of players attempting to meld into one cohesive unit for the first time against real competition.

In the middle of second quarter, Conner Shaw found the corner and broke free for a 99-yard touchdown to give the Cardinals their first score of the season.

The Eagles, not to be undone by a single blown assignment, responded with a long march down the field, concluding in a seven-yard passing touchdown from Connor Sonius to Jordan Weiland. The two-point conversion was good, giving the Eagles an 8-6 lead going into halftime.

Shaw broke free again in the third quarter on a 68-yard sprint to the endzone, giving the lead back to the visitors.

West Hancock received a break of its own on a punt return that caught the Cardinals sleeping and Dylan Eckels stormed in on a 72-yard return. The PAT was good, giving the lead back to the home team midway through the fourth.

But the Cardinals persevered. The defense stood tough and the offense picked up as the clock ticked down. On a seven-yard run, Shaw broke through again to give the Cards a slight lead.

More defense and determination found the Cardinals knocking on the Eagle’s door once more with seconds remaining. Shaw gave the coffin its final nail and the Cardinals the win, 24-16.

“West Hancock is a very good football team.  This is something for these young men to be proud of,” said GHV Head Coach Scott VanDusseldorp. “The team did a very nice job blocking, tackling and adjusting to the different things West Hancock threw at them.”

Big plays and tough defense was the name of the game for the Cardinals Friday night. Despite a nearly even number of first downs, GHV racked up 384 yards of offense – 370 of which came on the ground – compared to West Hancock’s 153 total yards.

Shaw was the leading Cardinal rusher with 283-yards on 29 carries for four touchdowns. Also chipping in was Lucas Prohaska with three carries for 62-yards and Jack VanDusseldorp had six carries for 18-yards.

One of Prohaska’s two passes was complete and was received by Shaw for 14-yards.

The Eagles were led on offense by Dalton Bates, who had 57-yards on 18 carries and Weiland with 34-yards on 11 carries.

Sonius did the passing for the Eagles, completing five of 19 passes for 52-yards. His targets were diverse. Dylan Eckels received two catches for 25-yards. Nate Paulus had one catch for 17-yards and Weiland had one for seven yards and a touchdown.

Leading the Cardinal defense was Cade Baker with eight tackles and one interception, followed by Connor Smith and Grady Umbarger with five and one-half tackles apiece, Shaw and Gabe Umbarger with five and Matt Sonquist and Chase Theobald each with four and one-half tackles. Also contributing was Harley Forrey with two tackles and an interception.

  “This was a hard fought win, but this week doesn’t get any easier for us, as we play an extremely tough Humboldt team,” said VanDusseldorp.

The Cardinals will host their home opener against 3A Humboldt (0-1) this Friday in non-district play.