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The Columbus Cardinals welcomed the Sealy Tigers to John H. Massey Field at Memorial Stadium for their final scrimmage before the start of the regular season.
Both teams bat t led throughout the night, with the scrimmage ending in a 7-7 tie.
Columbus running back Doc Cantu provided an early highlight, finding space and breaking free for a 70-yard touchdown. Sealy’s defense tightened up afterward, while the Tigers’ offense found its rhythm and responded with a touchdown to tie the score.
Cardinals Head Coach Matt Schobel said Sealy continues to provide Columbus with a strong preseason test. The larger- school Tigers bring physical ity and speed along with the familiarity of a longtime rivalry.
“I think it is the eighth year in a row that we scrimmaged them,” Schobel said. “They’re physical, they’re fast, and they are going to play hard and compete, and that’s exactly what we are looking for.”
Following the scrimmage, Schobel reminded his players not to judge their performance solely by how they felt walking off the field. Film from the Cardinals’ first scrimmage revealed mistakes despite the team’s positive initial assessment, and he expects film from the Sealy scrimmage to reveal positives along with areas needing improvement.
“I just told the kids last week after the scrimmage we were feel ing really good about it, but we watched the film and there were mistakes that will cost you in a game,” Schobel said. “I’m sure this week we are feeling like we did not do anything, but we will watch the film this week and see that we did a lot of good things but have to definitely clean up the mistakes. We can’t give the team the ball in a good field position.”
With both scrimmages behind them, the Cardinals now turn their attention to the regular season. Columbus will open on the road against Bay City Friday, Aug. 28, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
