Paratrooper
09-16-2006, 07:12 AM
Cards lose close one to Raiders, 28-24
BRIDGE CITY — After shooting themselves in the foot twice in the second quarter, the Bridge City Cardinals never quite recovered Friday as the much-improved Lumberton Raiders escaped Larry Ward Stadium with a 28-24 victory.
Lumberton quarterback Bryce DeJohn hit speedy receiver Jeremy Garza on a 43-yard touchdown toss with 1:39 remaining for what turned out to be the game-winner. The Cardinals’ coverage broke down as DeJohn rolled left and hit Garza, who was wide open, along the right side and Garza coasted to the end zone.
DeJohn completed 10-of-22 passes for 149 yards.
The Cardinals (1-1) had one last gasp. Senior quarterback Johnny Dishon, who shredded the Raider defense for 191 yards on 25 carries, hit receiver Troy Bolton on a 22-yard dart across the middle. Just when it looked like the swift Bolton was going to break away, the ball got stripped and Garza fell on it at the Raider 36 with 1:21 left.
“The kids played hard, we just simply made too many mistakes,” said Cardinal head coach Claude Tarver. “We respected Lumberton coming in and we have that much more respect for them after tonight. They have improved tremendously under Coach (Alvin) Credeur. Both teams competed hard. When we went up 24-21 late I knew it wasn’t over and Lumberton came up with the big play when they had too.”
The Cardinals were inside the Raider 5 twice in the second period but only got three points out of it to lead 10-7 at the half.
“That definitely took the wind out of our sail,” said Tarver. “Two times we could’ve punched it in but penalties got to us. We played with great effort but we’re still playing sloppy at times and it came up and bit us tonight. The kids will realize where the mistakes are at and they can be corrected. I know they can bounce back from this.”
Bridge City looked to be in control late in the fourth period. Trailing 21-17 with 6:14 remaining, the Cardinals raced 69 yards in six plays to go up 24-21. Bolton caught a vital 15-yard halfback option pass from Cody Mills that kept the drive humming. Dishon broke off runs of 12 and 14 yards and Mills, who finished with 76 yards and two touchdowns on 11 totes, capped it off with a sharp-looking 21-yard touchdown run, side-swiping the right sidelines but never stepping out of bounds to give the Cardinals a 24-21 lead with 2:54 remaining.
The Raiders grabbed a four-point lead midway through the fourth, driving 57 yards on seven plays, all on the ground. Bull-dozing tailback Cody Hussey, who finished with 96 yards on 13 carries, capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown run off left tackle to make it 21-17 with 6:14 remaining.
Bridge City chewed up nearly five minutes of the clock to go up 17-14 early in the fourth, chalking up 64 yards in eight plays, all on the ground. Dishon had five carries for 38 yards on the march and put the Cardinals ahead with a 5-yard blast up the middle with 9:15 left in the game. Dishon lined up everywhere in the Cardinal offense, playing not only quarterback but fullback and slot receiver as well.
“Johnny had another tremendous game,” said Tarver. “He played so much on both sides of the ball. He gets a little winded at times but he’s such a great competitor. Cody Mills ran good again tonight. On defense, we’re still playing in spurts. At times we felt like we had them bottled up and then they’d pop a big play on us.”
The Cardinals outgained the Raiders 360-357. BC gained 268 of their yards on the ground. Dishon was 3-of-11 passing for 77 yards.
The third quarter had a couple miscues by both squads but it was the Raiders that ended up capitalizing on it.
Lumberton drove from its own 35 all the way down to the BC 22 but Raider running back Jacob Hanna, who had 51 yards on 10 totes, coughed the ball up to Cardinal defensive lineman Chase Warner with 4:49 left in the third period.
The Cardinals returned the favor when Dishon received a bad snap that Raider linebacker Darby Chilek pounced on at the Cardinal 22.
DeJohn connected with Garza, who snared three balls for 79 yards, on a 14-yard strike on a critical third-and-10 play that got down to the Cardinal 8. Two plays later, Hanna made amends of his turnover by scoring on a 5-yard toss sweep around the right end to give the Raiders a 14-10 advantage with 3:18 left in the third.
There were certainly some offensive fireworks in the first quarter but the Cardinals blew a couple golden opportunities to break the game open in the second quarter that certainly would’ve increased their 10-7 halftime edge.
On Bridge City’s first series Dishon found receiver Carl Carlton streaking down the left sidelines. Carlton made a tremendous leaping catch over a outstretched Raider defender and sprinted down the sideline for a 48-yard completion down to the Lumberton 5. Two plays later, Cardinal tailback Cody Mills made a tough 2-yard blast off right tackle to give the Cardinals a 6-0 lead. Kicker Guadalupe Estrada booted the extra point to complete BC’s five-play, 58-yard scoring march with 7:44 remaining in the first period.
The Raiders quickly recovered with two big plays on their next possession, navigating 90 yards in the process. Raider tailback Cody Hussey took a carry up the middle from his own 20 and looked like he was bottled up by a host of Cardinals. However, BC didn’t completely wrap up the hard-charging back as he broke away for a 56-yard scamper all the way to the Cardinal 24.
After an illegal procedure call, Raider fullback Aaron Grillo zipped through the middle of the Cardinal defense on a 29-yard touchdown dart as the Raiders knotted the game at 7-7 with 5:55 still left in the first.
The Cardinals took over at their own 22 with 2:32 left in the first quarter and drove all the way down to the Raider 3 before the drive stalled. Dishon had a spectacular 36-yard keeper on the drive and Mills had 20 yards on two carries to help the Cards to the brink of the Raider end zone. The Raiders, however, stuffed two Cardinal running plays and Dishon threw a incompletion over the middle of the end zone and the Cardinals had to settle for Estrada’s 20-yard field goal with 10:04 remaining in the half.
Lumberton came up big on defense again after it gave up a costly turnover deep in its own territory. Raider receiver Travis Wilkerson bobbled a bad pitch by quarterback Bryce DeJohn and Cardinal defensive end Jeff Fisette fell on the loose pigskin at the Raider 15 with 4:30 left in the half. A Dishon 5-yard run gave BC a first-and-goal at the 5. Lumberton stuffed two straight runs. On third down, a streaking Dishon rolled left and found Fisette, now at fullback, for what looked to be a 2-yard touchdown pass. Unfortunately for BC, Fisette was called for offensive pass interference and the ball was moved back to the 17. Estrada tried to attempt a 34-yard field goal but two Raiders got a piece of it and the Cardinals had to settle for a three-point halftime edge.
Dishon motored for 104 yards on 13 carries in the first 24 minutes as the Cardinals outgained the Raiders 179-164 in the half. Mills had 34 yards on eight totes.
For Lumberton, DeJohn was 4-of-10 for 54 yards while Hussey had 59 yards on six carries and Grillo had 49 yards off four totes.
The Cardinals will try to bounce back next Friday when they visit Beaumont Kelly.
BRIDGE CITY — After shooting themselves in the foot twice in the second quarter, the Bridge City Cardinals never quite recovered Friday as the much-improved Lumberton Raiders escaped Larry Ward Stadium with a 28-24 victory.
Lumberton quarterback Bryce DeJohn hit speedy receiver Jeremy Garza on a 43-yard touchdown toss with 1:39 remaining for what turned out to be the game-winner. The Cardinals’ coverage broke down as DeJohn rolled left and hit Garza, who was wide open, along the right side and Garza coasted to the end zone.
DeJohn completed 10-of-22 passes for 149 yards.
The Cardinals (1-1) had one last gasp. Senior quarterback Johnny Dishon, who shredded the Raider defense for 191 yards on 25 carries, hit receiver Troy Bolton on a 22-yard dart across the middle. Just when it looked like the swift Bolton was going to break away, the ball got stripped and Garza fell on it at the Raider 36 with 1:21 left.
“The kids played hard, we just simply made too many mistakes,” said Cardinal head coach Claude Tarver. “We respected Lumberton coming in and we have that much more respect for them after tonight. They have improved tremendously under Coach (Alvin) Credeur. Both teams competed hard. When we went up 24-21 late I knew it wasn’t over and Lumberton came up with the big play when they had too.”
The Cardinals were inside the Raider 5 twice in the second period but only got three points out of it to lead 10-7 at the half.
“That definitely took the wind out of our sail,” said Tarver. “Two times we could’ve punched it in but penalties got to us. We played with great effort but we’re still playing sloppy at times and it came up and bit us tonight. The kids will realize where the mistakes are at and they can be corrected. I know they can bounce back from this.”
Bridge City looked to be in control late in the fourth period. Trailing 21-17 with 6:14 remaining, the Cardinals raced 69 yards in six plays to go up 24-21. Bolton caught a vital 15-yard halfback option pass from Cody Mills that kept the drive humming. Dishon broke off runs of 12 and 14 yards and Mills, who finished with 76 yards and two touchdowns on 11 totes, capped it off with a sharp-looking 21-yard touchdown run, side-swiping the right sidelines but never stepping out of bounds to give the Cardinals a 24-21 lead with 2:54 remaining.
The Raiders grabbed a four-point lead midway through the fourth, driving 57 yards on seven plays, all on the ground. Bull-dozing tailback Cody Hussey, who finished with 96 yards on 13 carries, capped it off with a 4-yard touchdown run off left tackle to make it 21-17 with 6:14 remaining.
Bridge City chewed up nearly five minutes of the clock to go up 17-14 early in the fourth, chalking up 64 yards in eight plays, all on the ground. Dishon had five carries for 38 yards on the march and put the Cardinals ahead with a 5-yard blast up the middle with 9:15 left in the game. Dishon lined up everywhere in the Cardinal offense, playing not only quarterback but fullback and slot receiver as well.
“Johnny had another tremendous game,” said Tarver. “He played so much on both sides of the ball. He gets a little winded at times but he’s such a great competitor. Cody Mills ran good again tonight. On defense, we’re still playing in spurts. At times we felt like we had them bottled up and then they’d pop a big play on us.”
The Cardinals outgained the Raiders 360-357. BC gained 268 of their yards on the ground. Dishon was 3-of-11 passing for 77 yards.
The third quarter had a couple miscues by both squads but it was the Raiders that ended up capitalizing on it.
Lumberton drove from its own 35 all the way down to the BC 22 but Raider running back Jacob Hanna, who had 51 yards on 10 totes, coughed the ball up to Cardinal defensive lineman Chase Warner with 4:49 left in the third period.
The Cardinals returned the favor when Dishon received a bad snap that Raider linebacker Darby Chilek pounced on at the Cardinal 22.
DeJohn connected with Garza, who snared three balls for 79 yards, on a 14-yard strike on a critical third-and-10 play that got down to the Cardinal 8. Two plays later, Hanna made amends of his turnover by scoring on a 5-yard toss sweep around the right end to give the Raiders a 14-10 advantage with 3:18 left in the third.
There were certainly some offensive fireworks in the first quarter but the Cardinals blew a couple golden opportunities to break the game open in the second quarter that certainly would’ve increased their 10-7 halftime edge.
On Bridge City’s first series Dishon found receiver Carl Carlton streaking down the left sidelines. Carlton made a tremendous leaping catch over a outstretched Raider defender and sprinted down the sideline for a 48-yard completion down to the Lumberton 5. Two plays later, Cardinal tailback Cody Mills made a tough 2-yard blast off right tackle to give the Cardinals a 6-0 lead. Kicker Guadalupe Estrada booted the extra point to complete BC’s five-play, 58-yard scoring march with 7:44 remaining in the first period.
The Raiders quickly recovered with two big plays on their next possession, navigating 90 yards in the process. Raider tailback Cody Hussey took a carry up the middle from his own 20 and looked like he was bottled up by a host of Cardinals. However, BC didn’t completely wrap up the hard-charging back as he broke away for a 56-yard scamper all the way to the Cardinal 24.
After an illegal procedure call, Raider fullback Aaron Grillo zipped through the middle of the Cardinal defense on a 29-yard touchdown dart as the Raiders knotted the game at 7-7 with 5:55 still left in the first.
The Cardinals took over at their own 22 with 2:32 left in the first quarter and drove all the way down to the Raider 3 before the drive stalled. Dishon had a spectacular 36-yard keeper on the drive and Mills had 20 yards on two carries to help the Cards to the brink of the Raider end zone. The Raiders, however, stuffed two Cardinal running plays and Dishon threw a incompletion over the middle of the end zone and the Cardinals had to settle for Estrada’s 20-yard field goal with 10:04 remaining in the half.
Lumberton came up big on defense again after it gave up a costly turnover deep in its own territory. Raider receiver Travis Wilkerson bobbled a bad pitch by quarterback Bryce DeJohn and Cardinal defensive end Jeff Fisette fell on the loose pigskin at the Raider 15 with 4:30 left in the half. A Dishon 5-yard run gave BC a first-and-goal at the 5. Lumberton stuffed two straight runs. On third down, a streaking Dishon rolled left and found Fisette, now at fullback, for what looked to be a 2-yard touchdown pass. Unfortunately for BC, Fisette was called for offensive pass interference and the ball was moved back to the 17. Estrada tried to attempt a 34-yard field goal but two Raiders got a piece of it and the Cardinals had to settle for a three-point halftime edge.
Dishon motored for 104 yards on 13 carries in the first 24 minutes as the Cardinals outgained the Raiders 179-164 in the half. Mills had 34 yards on eight totes.
For Lumberton, DeJohn was 4-of-10 for 54 yards while Hussey had 59 yards on six carries and Grillo had 49 yards off four totes.
The Cardinals will try to bounce back next Friday when they visit Beaumont Kelly.