The St Mary Cardinals cruised to a 9B playoff win at home on Thursday, October 24th. The Cardinals defeated the Irene-Wakona Eagles 62-12 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Irene-Wakonda took the lead, 6-0, with 8:47 in the first quarter on a 21-yard pass. The Cardinals took the lead, 8-6, with 7:10 after a nine-yard run by Trimmier Hanson and a two-point conversion by Lincoln LeBrun. L. LeBrun had a 67-yard touchdown run with 3:36 remaining. Jaxon Baumberger scored the two-point conversion for a 16-6 lead. Hanson added a 63-yard touchdown run, and Thomas LaVoy had the two-point conversion. With 1:48 left in the quarter, St Mary led 24-6. Jake Kopsas gave the defense a touchdown with a 70-yard interception return for a score before the end of the quarter. A made two-point conversion extended the lead to 32-6.
Jake Heinitz had a 44-yard touchdown run with 11:28 to play in the second quarter. LaVoy had another two-point conversion for a 40-6 advantage. Hanson had another big touchdown run, this time of 56 yards, with 6:22 left in the second quarter. Another two-point conversion made the score 48-6. The Eagles got a score with :54 remaining on a four-yard pass. Hanson connected with Maverick LeBrun on a 49-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds of the half. A made two-point conversion gave the Cardinals a 56-12 lead at halftime. Neither team scored in the third quarter. St Mary ended the game with about 5:00 left to play after a one-yard run by Logan Bauer.
The Cardinals had 486 yards of total offense, 403 rushing yards and 83 passing yards. The Eagles finished with 255 total yards, 72 rushing yards and 184 passing yards. Hanson had eight carries for 178 yards and three touchdowns. L. LeBrun had seven carries for 127 yards and a touchdown. Heinitz had two carries for 53 yards and a touchdown. Bauer had two carries for five yards and a touchdown. Hanson was 1-2 passing for 49 yards and a touchdown. Baumberger was 1-2 passing for 20 yards. M. LeBrun had two catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. L. LeBrun had 8.5 tackles. Keaton Hansen had 5.5 tackles. M. LeBrun added four tackles and two sacks. Kopsas had three tackles and two interceptions.
