.gif)
The Columbus Cardinals hosted the Yoakum Bul ldogs for Ozarka’s Game of the Week and dominated from the opening kickoff.
The Cardinals shut out the Bulldogs 35-0 as a nice send off to the fans as Friday was their last home regular season game of the season.
Spearheaded by senior running back Ty’Vone Whitehead the Cardinals jumped out to a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter. Whitehead is coming off a week where he was named the Built Ford Tough Player of the Week and did not miss a step.
The Cardinals did not hesitate to hand the ball to Whitehead throughout the game and it paid off in the form of 22 carries for 217 yards and all five of the Cardinals touchdowns on Friday night. Whitehead’s ability to run effectively opened the field up for the offense and quarterback Adam Schobel took advantage.
Schobel completed 12 of his 23 pass attempts for 109 yards with Jackson Hancock being his primary target. Hancock hauled in six passes for 73 yards and Camdon Pitchford and Braylon Fisher caught two passes each for 17 and 13 yards respectively.
Sitting with a 14-0 lead, the Cardinals closed out the first quarter in the middle of an offensive drive. Once the second quarter started, they continued to work down the field where Whitehead surged forward for his third touchdown of the first half.
The Cardinals carried their 21-0 lead into the break for halftime and came back in the third with more left in the tank. Whitehead added two more touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters, but the second half was all about the defense.
Defensively the Cardinals held the Bulldogs to 146 total yards for the entire game and protected their endzone perfectly. They forced the Bulldogs to fumble twice recovering one of those fumbles but a bulk of the Cardinals’ defensive work came on fourth down.
The Cardinals’ defense forced the Bulldogs to turn the ball over on downs multiple times Friday night which allowed Whitehead and the offense to literally run away with the game. With the game well in hand the Cardinals offense played more conservative down the stretch while the defense continued to dominate and close out the game.
As the clock ticked down to zero the Cardinals now enter a wellearned bye week before traveling to Hempstead for their final game of the regular season on Friday, Nov. 3, looking to get one last tune-up before playoffs.
