The Cardinal varsity football team, still looking for their first district win, hosted the number seventh city-ranked Somerset Bulldogs Friday, October 9th. The always tough Bulldogs came in looking for revenge for last seasons wild last second Cardinal victory. The Bulldogs drew first blood late in the 1st quarter on a long TD run, but the Cardinals were able to answer with a TD run by Junior Matt Collier. Somerset struck again quickly with another long run, but Southside would not be deterred and came back with another long drive capped off by a 28yd field goal by Senior Zachary Henry to end the first half with the Cardinals trailing just 13-9. Lightning struck quickly for the Red Storm in the second half as Matt Collier went 65yds on the very first play of the 2nd half to put the Cardinals in the lead 16-13. The Cardinal defense held Somerset at the goal line to force a tying field goal to make it 16-16 going into the final quarter. The hard hitting Cardinal defense stepped up for most of the 4th quarter giving the high- scoring Bulldog offense all they could handle, but in the end were bitten by another big play late in the game to give Somerset a 23-16 lead. A last chance drive to tie the game came up short and the Bulldogs narrowly escaped with a tough hard-earned victory. Although it ended with a disappointing final score, the Cardinals gave the large crowd an exciting show of Cardinal pride and determination.
Although their record in the season so far has not been where hoped it might be, the Cardinals have shown tremendous fight despite having many younger, first-time starters at key positions. The Somerset game performance showed that despite our current record, we still have high hopes, going into the final four games of the season, that the playoffs are still a reachable goal. Continued fan support from the Cardinal Nation and packed stands both at home and on the road for the remaining games will play a big part in helping them get there.
Go Cardinals!!!
Check out our YouTube Channel for highlights of the game