Cardinals football, which showed guts and grit as they persevered past Buffalo in an upset last week, were on the wrong side of the scoreboard this past Friday, falling to Osage 47-6. Despite flying high into the matchup, the Cardinals were out of sync early on offense, unable to find the same rhythm through the air that helped them top Buffalo the week before. Osage, taking advantage of Clinton’s slow start, wore down the Cardinal defense on the ground, connecting with a trio of body blows on the ground that had Clinton reeling 19-0 before the Cardinals finally found their groove in the late-second quarter, Kanden LaFarge connecting with Emrie Neal as the game approached the break 19-6 in favor of Osage.
Down just 13 points entering half-time despite the sluggish start offensively, Clinton found itself within reach of yet another upset on the road at the start of the third quarter, their season hanging in the balance. Unfortunately, the scoreboard coming out of halftime would be the closest the Cardinals would get in this one, as Osage slammed the door shut out of the break, stifling any whispers of an upset that might’ve been passed around the visiting sideline with three more scores in the third quarter—all unanswered. In fact, Osage scored all the points in the second half, as Clinton failed to get on the board even once after intermission.
For the Cardinals, who’s 2-9 record is now officially cemented for the 2022 Season, there is a lot to build on moving forward. For instance, the Cardinals wins, which came by way of a homecoming route against Missouri Military Academy 42-6, and the upset at Buffalo to open district play last week, are each of evidence of the team’s improvement of their 0-5 start. At the start of the season in an interview with the Cards first-year head coach Cody Carlson, Carlson talked about building a “winning culture.” For the Cardinals, while the record and scoreboard didn’t always show it, the team took necessary and difficult strides this season as they pushed through adversity all-year, fighting from whistle to whistle each week and laying the foundation for future success. As the old cliché goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. This is true. For the Cardinals, it hasn’t been just one day. It’s been an entire season. A season of up-and-downs, teamwork, adversity, dedication, and pride. At 2-9 on the year, there’s certainly room for improvement. But for Cardinals Football, 2-9 is only the beginning as the team trends in the right direction heading into the offseason.
Passing
Comp/Att/Yds/TD
#6 K. LaFarge
9/25/90/1
Rushing
Att/Yds/TD
#1 M. Oliver
6/51/0
#6 K. LaFarge
9/13/0
#17 C. Mertz
8/10/0
Receiving
Rec/Yds/TD
#17 C. Mertz
4/49/0
#4 E. Neal
3/33/1
#28 R. Brown
1/7/0
#1 M. Oliver
1/1/0
Tackles
Tk/Ast/Sck
#17 C. Mertz
4/6/0
#30 W. Golder
4/5/0
#28 R. Brown
3/1/0
#4 E. Neal
2/6/0
#36 T. Switzer
2/4/0
