11 Cards selected to All-District team

The Columbus High School Cardinals offensive players have been selected to the All-District team, but now it is the defense’s turn.

As the old saying goes, offense wins games, but defense wins championships, and the Cardinals are the personification of that saying.

Headlining the All-District selections for the All-District team is John Schobel who was named Defensive MVP for the district. Schobel was the heartbeat of the Cards defense all the way up to the State Championship game.

He was also awarded the Defensive MVP in the State Championship game to finish his senior season as one of the best linebackers in the state.

The first team selections are comprised of five different Cardinals, Brody Vinklarek, Rylan Carruthers, Will Fitzgerald, Cooper Osborne and Elijah Usher. Vinklarek and Carruthers joined Schobel at the linebacker position, and both had a ton of success both rushing the passer and dropping in coverage for the Cards.

They also did a great job tackling this year and made sure when they hit someone they fell to the ground.

Fitzgerald and Osborne were a part of the defensive line that was looking for answers after Anthony Shorter went down in week one. Fitzgerald not only stepped up, but he was one of the smallest players playing defensive tackle going up against 300-pound lineman and he was still getting pressure.

Osborne was able to utilize his length and speed to get pressure and even forced a couple of fumbles this season. Usher was the lone defensive back on the first All-District team, and he was a shutdown corner for the Cards which allowed their front seven that was led by Schobel to torment the quarterback.

The second All-District team saw Christopher Quinn, Jack Schobel, Xavier Woods, Brennan Hicks and Brody Tribe get selected for the Cards.

Quinn and Tribe made most of their hay rushing the passer, they are big, they are strong, and they are quick. They overwhelmed teams with their size and athleticism, and they won the State title because of it.

Jack Schobel, Woods and Hicks all patrolled the secondary for the Cards and very rarely got beat deep down the field. The trio took the ball away as well via interceptions and made the Cards’ defense a formidable unit to play against this season.

Congratulations to all the Cardinal players that were selected to the All-District team.