Cards throttle Cowboys in 45-8 romp

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura Cardinals (4-2, 3-1) took the Clarion-Goldfield-Dows-Cal Cowboys (0-6, 0-4) to the woodshed Friday night, Sept. 29, to the tune of 45-8.

“I am really proud of how the team played,” said GHV Head Coach Scott Van Dusseldorp. “They put together a more complete game and are improving every week, which makes me very happy.”

The ill-fated Cowboys were doomed from the very first play at scrimmage when a poorly-communicated handoff put the ball in Cardinal hands on the Cowboys’ 19.

A few plays later, Nick Joynt put six on the board. Connor Burke put it through the uprights for a 7-0 lead.

After a turnover on downs, Ryan Meyers got the GHV passing game going, connecting on two bombs – the second of which landed in the end zone. Joynt was the recipient and Burke’s PAT was good.

The Cowboys got their own passing game going late in the first quarter, eventually finding the end zone for their lone touchdown of the game. The PAT run was good for eight, 14-8.

GHV wasted no time getting back into the end zone, as Joynt broke through on a third down for 55-yards and six more points to start the second quarter. The PAT pass attempt was good, 22-8.

The Cowboys failed to convert on the following drive and the Cards took over, driving nearly 70-yards before bringing out the field goal unit. Burke’s booming 41-yard kick was good for three more.

The Cardinals led at halftime,  25-8.

The third quarter was more of the same, as GHV racked up 20 more points to seal the game, 45-8.

The Cardinals owned the gridiron, racking up 469 total yards of offense, with 407 on the ground. Meanwhile, the Cowboys had only 161-yards of offense; 82 on the ground and 79 through the air.

Turnovers cost Clarion big all night, as they coughed it up five times.

Leading the Cardinal offense was Joynt with 186-yards and three touchdowns on 10 attempts. Jace Pringnitz added 98-yards and two touchdowns on 11 tries, while Burke had 97-yards on eight carries.

A large lead allowed a slew of running backs to get reps for the Cardinal team, gaining experience for future games and seasons.

Meyers went four-for-10 under center, passing for 62-yards and a touchdown. Joynt had two catches for 41-yards and a touchdown, while Pringnitz had one catch for 15-yards, and Anthony Sherwood had one for six.

Dane Whipple lead the Cards in tackles with nine and he contributed on a sack.  Pringnitz added five and one-half tackles and half a sack. Other leading tacklers were Joynt and Holden Larson with three and one-half apiece. Brock Gouge, Landon Dalbeck, Buck Weaver and Caleb Turek had two and one-half tackles each.

“This week we play a very physical Crestwood team that has a great tradition and is typically at the top of our district,” said Van Dusseldorp. “We need to play physical and limit our mistakes to be successful.”

The Cards will host Crestwood Cadets (3-3, 3-1) in Garner.  Game time is 7:30 p.m.