Cards shut out Bobcats in regular season finale

COLUMBUS CARDINALS 43, HEMPSTEAD BOBCATS 0

The Columbus Cardinals hosted the Hempstead Bobcats for their final home game of the season.

The Cards made a huge statement with a 43-0 win over a district opponent last Friday night.

The Cards defense played a fantastic game, and that goes without saying because looking at the score alone is obvious. They made life miserable for the Bobcats though and did not just shut them out but frustrated them offensively.

Any time they started to gain a little bit of momentum, the Cards were there to shut them down and swing the momentum back their way. They practically lived in the Bobcats’ backfield and even forced a couple of turnovers.

The Cards defense forced a fumble but did not recover it; they did, however, record an interception as Rylan Carruthers intercepted a pass. They were also able to find some offense with their defense as Carruthers returned the intercepted pass for a touchdown.

The Cards’ offense in the first quarter scored 21 points to carry a 21-0 lead into the second quarter. The Cards scored two more times in the second quarter to give them a 35-0 lead at halftime.

Coming out of the break, the Cards scored once more to make the score 43-0, which held until the final buzzer sounded.

Jack Schobel was under center for the Cards, and he completed four of his seven passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. The recipient of that touchdown pass was Jesus Mendoza and he and Schobel connected for a 21-yard score.

In the rushing attack, Doc Cantu has a great game for the Cards as he carried the ball six times for 105 yards and two touchdowns. The rest of the team combined for 23 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown.

With the regular season now behind them, the Cards look ahead to their playoff journey, which is set to begin on Thursday.

The Cards will travel to Manor ISD to take on the Troy Trojans with the Bi-District Championship on the line on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m.