On about as perfect a night, weather-wise, as most football fans have experienced in recent times, the atmosphere at Richard A. Moss Stadium at Cardinal High was festive. It was a night to start a new season of high hopes for the Huskies football team while honoring athletes who had made superb marks on the community in their own days of action on the field or courts.
Game photos click here.
On about as perfect a night, weather-wise, as most football fans have experienced in recent times, the atmosphere at Richard A. Moss Stadium at Cardinal High was festive. It was a night to start a new season of high hopes for the Huskies football team while honoring athletes who had made superb marks on the community in their own days of action on the field or courts.
The 1990 volleyball team, Cardinal’s only team to reach state action in Columbus; wrestler Alan Neikirk, a three-time state placer; and former coach Jeff Zeigler, who spent 30 seasons sending grapplers to Columbus, with one state title winner in the mix, earned their place in the Cardinal Hall of Fame.
However, despite lightning quick moves and power early on, the 2023 football team, which had success last year and now higher hopes, experienced a quick bolt of negative-type lightning hit on the third play against Garrettsville’s Garfield G-Men and never recovered.
The G-Men claimed opening night with a convincing victory, 42-0.
A quick pass play over the middle on the second play, from Logan Strever to Troy Domen for the Huskies, gained a first down at Cardinal’s own 34 yard line. But the next play saw the ball forced to the ground, and Eric Geddes recovered for Garfield on the Huskies’ 31 yard line.
All-everything player Keegan Sell took the next handoff for Garfield over right tackle, broke three tackles as he headed to the right sideline, and bulled his way into the end zone with all of 42 seconds gone — and with that, the stage was set.
The Huskies moved the ball well on their next possession, setting Cardinal up inside G-Men territory, but the drive stalled, forcing a punt. Six plays later, Geddes fired a bomb down the right sideline on a fly pattern from the 38 yard line in Huskies territory, and Deacon Sommer out-jumped two defenders by barely an inch to snare the pass with one hand and push to the end zone for another score.
Geddes scored on a 19-yard run in the second period, but the Huskies were still competing.
For the final points, Leo Grandizio put a dent into comeback ideas with an 85-yard kickoff return to start the second half; Sell scored again late in the third period to instigate a running clock; and sub Collin McGranahan scored from the one with 3:29 left to play.
“Offensively, I think we have some good quick strike capabilities on this team,” Cardinal Head Coach Chris Perrotti said after the game. “We can strike from anywhere on the field. We have some great athletes this year, again, but tonight it just didn’t happen.
“Sell is probably the best back in Portage County. He keeps his feet moving, and they have a bunch of good athletes who can play, too. We didn’t maintain any consistency. For how inexperienced our offensive line is, they played a fairly solid game, but we didn’t make the plays we needed.”
Momentum was tough for the Huskies to get going. Cardinal does not have a usual power back to move the ball this year, but they have a good group to work with. Garrettsville’s huge line, on both sides, dictated that the Huskies might throw, and they did.
Notably, Strever showed good promise throwing the ball. He hit on 11 of 27 passes with a pair of interceptions. Combined with an early fumble, Cardinal just couldn’t get any continuity or flow moving the ball, and several overthrows didn’t help.
Still, for a first game of the year on a big night, there were many signs of success the Huskies might build on.
This week Cardinal travels to Andover to battle the Pymatuning Valley Lakers, a team similar in style to the G-Men, as PV has two great backs to move the ball. The Lakers don’t, however, have a line similar to Garrettsville’s, and lost their close, opening-night game to Mineral Ridge.
As both teams look for the first win, expect a donnybrook.
