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The Columbus Cardinals opened the season on the road against the Cuero Gobblers and they opened the season with a 65-24 win.
There were plenty of storylines and questions around the Cardinals heading into the season, most of which were answered in the first half of the game.
One of those questions were around recently acquired running back Grayson Rigdon and how long it would take him to make the adjustment from 6-man to 11-man football. It did not take long at all for Rigdon to adjust and shortly after the opening kickoff the Cardinals first drive of the year was capped off with a 30-yard Rigdon run for a touchdown.
Rigdon was just getting started though and because with five minutes left in the first quarter, he ripped off another run. Starting on their own 29-yard line, Rigdon found the perfect hole that led to green grass and then he turned on the afterburners all the way to the endzone for his second touchdown in the first quarter.
He went on to carry the ball 14 times for a total of 245 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Rigdon also showed his ability to catch passes out of the back field as Adam Schobel linked up with Rigdon through the air for a touchdown.
This was one of five touchdowns Schobel threw Friday night which is an impressive stat on its own. But Schobel completed 15 of his 18 passes (83%) for 233 yards to start his senior season off in style.
Schobel’s top targets was sophomore receiver Braylon Fisher and senior receiver Camdon Pitchford. Fisher caught six of Schobel’s passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns with Pitchford hauling in five passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns.
While the Cardinal offense was firing on all cylinders the defense and special teams was just as effective and productive. The most noteworthy thing the Cardinals’ defense did was record a safety in the contest.
With under a minute left in the first half Sean Sutton was able to get through the line and get right in the punter’s face to block the ball down. The ball was recovered by the Cardinals and were rewarded with a safety for their effort.
The Cardinal defense held Cuero to only 17 points in the first half while the offense posted 44 of their own. The second half was more of the same from the Cardinals with high flying offense and hard hitting, in your face defense leading the way.
On defense, the Cardinals secured two interceptions, one by Bryan Salazar and Brennan Hicks each, and one fumble recovery while only giving up one touchdown in the entire second half. Meanwhile the offense added 21 more points to their lead to secure their first win of the year.
With the first win in their pockets the Cardinals shift their focus to week two where they will welcome in the La Grange Leopards for their home opener on Friday, Sept. 6, with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
