The Cardinals were able to pull out a win on Friday against the 9A #3 Alcester-Hudson Cubs. A huge game from Trimmier Hanson led the way for St Mary’s. The senior accounted for four total touchdowns in the win.
First Quarter
Although the Cardinals would go three-and-out to start the game and the Cubs would turn the ball over on downs on the next drive, St Mary’s would get on the board first. Junior quarterback Jaxon Baumberger faked a pitch to Lincoln Lebrun and fired to a wide open Hanson down the field. The throw-and-catch totaled 90 yards for the first score of the game. Lebrun notched the two-point, making it 8-0 Cardinals. St Mary’s would have the chance to stop the Cubs on fourth down again from their own ten yard line. Alcester-Hudson quarterback Tommy Walth rolled out, however, and threw to the endzone to Ethan Brown for the Cub touchdown. The two-point was converted making it 8-8 at the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter
As a result of starting the second quarter with the ball, the Cards controlled possession for nearly half of the second quarter. Hanson would spin off of two tackles before reaching the endzone for his second time, this one from 17 yards away. Although the two-point was no good, St Mary’s held the lead 14-8. The Cub offense drove down all the way to the one yard line for first-and-goal, looking for an easy score. The Cardinals, however, had different plans. Lebrun screamed through the Cub line for a tackle for loss. This would kick-start an impressive stand. Josh Liebl stuffed a Cub toss at the one, and Carlo Pica notched a tackle for loss making it fourth-and-goal. An Alcester-Hudson incomplete pass gave the ball back to St Mary’s. The Cards, while controlling momentum, chose to kneel out the half, holding the lead 14-8.
Third Quarter
The Cubs looked to gather some momentum back starting with the ball in the second half. However, Logan Bauer punched the ball out of the hands of Cub running back Darrin Dykstra on the very first play of the third. Baumberger recovered giving the Cardinals a first-and-ten. The Cardinals took the ball down to the 28 before Baumberger pitched out to Hanson. Hanson would fake out nearly the entire Cub defense taking the ball in for another touchdown. A failed two-point made it 20-8. Alcester-Hudson would score on their next drive from 50 yards away. Their two-point failed making it 20-14. St Mary’s got the ball down to the 20 yard-line before Hanson threw to Lebrun in the end zone for another touchdown. The two point was no good making the score 26-14 moving to the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
A long Cub drive would get down to the one yard-line as they looked for a score on fourth-and-goal. Bauer would hit first on a quarterback run as C. Pica, Gavin Pica, and Liebl swarmed for another goal-line stop. The Cardinals were unable to get their offense going on the ensuing drive. Alcester-Hudson came to the line, however, the Cubs got desperate. A pass from Walth floated right into the hands of Hanson for a crucial interception. Baumberger would run in for a ten-yard touchdown and the two-point on the next drive, making it 32-14. Alcester-Hudson was able to punch in one more score making it 32-20 before St Mary’s was able to run out the clock on the ballgame. The Cardinals would win 32-20.
Final Rundown
After the game, Coach Ross Flemmer said,
“The boys really stepped it up tonight when it counted, they played hard for 48 minutes. I’m very proud of the way they played tonight against a very good team.”
Looking at the stats, it truly was a huge game from Trimmier Hanson. Hanson finished with 15 carries for 107 yards and two rushing touchdowns to lead the way. Lebrun had 18 carries for 68 yards and a two-point conversion run. Thomas Lavoy added six carries for 46 yards, and Baumberger had five carries for 18 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point run. Through the air, Baumberger had 128 yards passing with one throwing touchdown on four completions. Hanson had one throw for 28 yards and a touchdown. Hanson also had two catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. Lebrun had two catches for 34 yards and a touchdown. Bauer had a catch for 16 yards.
Defensively, Liebl had seven and a half tackles alongside Lebrun’s seven. C. Pica had six and a half tackles in addition to G. Pica having five. Baumberger and Bauer both finished with four tackles. Baumberger had a fumble recovery, while Bauer had a forced fumble. Kade Lutt had two and a half tackles and a pass break-up, while Hanson had two tackles and an interception.
After the huge game from Hanson, the Cardinals move to 7-0. They will host the Sioux Falls Lutheran Eagles next Friday. That game will be here on Big Sioux Media under https://www.youtube.com/@BigSiouxMedia/streams. This is the last regular season game for the Cardinals.
