NEXT
(0)
   +3 +3 +3
The St. Mary's Cardinals have earned a trip to Lincoln on Monday, Nov. 4, for the Class D-2 Championships against Wynot at 2:45 p.m. The Cardinals put it all on the line last Friday, Nov. 14, when they faced Howells-Dodge in the Semifinals at Howells. It was a perfect matchup, with both teams 11-0 on the season and the fourth-ranked Cards taking on the top-ranked Jaguars. Gage Hedstrom stole the show, setting the eight-man touchdown record with 186, beating out Neligh-Oakdale's Aiden Kuester. The last four touchdowns Hedstrom played with a knee injury in the first half. The Cardinals made their first strike with a 22-yard run by Gage Hedstrom. Hedstrom threw to Ben Barlow for the PAT, putting the Cards up 8-0. Howells-Dodge quickly bit back when Hunter Luther got the team on the board on a 27-yard touchdown. The Jaguar offense was centered around the 6'2" 200 lb. senior, and with that, the Cardinals slowed him to 105 yards and one touchdown for the game. It was back to the Cardinals with Hedstrom running in a 56-yard touchdown. Hedstrom hit Barlow for another PAT. The Jaguars weren't done driving down the field, Oliver Belina making his move with a 1-yard touchdown. Hedstrom ran in the last score of the quarter and hit James Eby for the PAT. Hedstrom took in a two-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Belina for the Jaguars ran in the third score for the Jaguars, putting the score at 28-18 at the half. In the third, the Cardinals focused on keeping the Jaguars at bay, but that didn't stop them from putting up 8 points, with Hedstrom hitting Barlow on a 14-yard touchdown. The Cards now thoroughly in the top spot, the play would be to focus on keeping ground. Hedstrom and Barlow took the first step forward with a 5-yard touchdown pass to keep the pace up. The Jaguars made a last-ditch effort with Belina throwing a 50-yard touchdown pass to Andre Martin, sneaking in one last full eight-point effort. The Cards answered back with one final touchdown from Hedstrom, with Barlow running in the 2-point conversion. Despite a reasonable effort, and both teams seemingly even, Howells-Dodge couldn't keep up with the now 12-0 Cardinals. They fell 52-28 and dropped out of the race for the trip to Lincoln. St. Mary's totaled 51 plays for 22 first downs and had four penalties. Howells-Dodge had 59 plays for 16 first downs and had three penalties. Gage Hedstrom had a great night with 25 carries for 328 yards and had five touchdowns; Drake Berg had three carries for 11 yards; and Barlow had two touchdowns. Dalton Herley was the defensive king with 16 tackles; Eli Banks had 13 tackles; Lane Bybee had 11 tackles; Hedstrom had 10 tackles; Ben Pongratz and Berg had nine tackles; Barlow had eight tackles; Keigan Couch had six tackles; Myles Hamilton had five tackles; and Ruger Kraft and Eby had one tackle. This following Monday, Nov. 24, the Cardinals will give it their all in the state Championships round against Wynot. The Blue Devils' record this season is 11-1, giving the Cardinals the slight edge going in. The Cardinals' last trip to Lincoln was in November of 2002, when St. Mary's defeated Lindsay Holy Family 22-8.
| |||||||||||||||||||
Welcome to the discussion.
| |||||||
| Tags | Football SMH |
|---|