Cardinals out hustled, 55-21

The Garner-Hayfield/Ventura Cardinals (2-5, 1-3), were brought to their knees Friday night by the Estherville  Lincoln Central Midgets (3-4, 2-3) in a 55-21 decision. 

Large Midget gains, breaks in the Cardinal defense and a Midget offense that played just a step ahead combined to create the score’s deficit. Still, it was a close game, statistically and competitively.

The Midgets got off to a big lead quickly, putting up 21 points in the first quarter off runs of 87, 10 and 40-yards. 

The Cardinals were quick to answer with 14 points of their own early in the second quarter. On the legs of Lucas Prohaska and Conner Shaw, the Cardinals fought back in the game of long-ball running.  Runs of  74 and 71-yards, respectively, were split by a key defensive stop to make back-to-back scores possible.  Harley Forry ran in a two point conversion.

But the 21-14 match was short-lived, as the Midgets were able to crack through the lines three more times in the second quarter, while holding the Cardinals scoreless. The halftime score stood at 42-14.

The third quarter saw another break away run by the Midgets, which was quickly followed by a returned punt for a touchdown as a result of a shortened field.

Nearing the end of the third quarter, the Cardinals drove the length of the field to punch it in one last time on a four-yard run by Logan Miller.  Connor Burke’s PAT was good for the final score, 55-21. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals had a total of 312 yards to the Midget’s 429. Combine that with 10 to 11 first downs, 74 to 96 passing yards and 62 to 102 lost yards to penalties, and the game comes down to - Read More Via e-Edition