Cardinals Lose Another Close One

On Friday, September 9, the Pleasant Plains Cardinals lost another close game to the Athens Warriors. Athens is one of the top ranked teams in the Sangomo Conference, and Plains was hoping for an upset to get their winless season on a roll. The Cardinals entered the game last Friday 0-2 on the season with losses to Staunton, 19-9, and Auburn, 21-20.

 On the opening kickoff, Athens kicked short to Josh Cornett, who recovered the kickoff for a short return, and the Cardinals came out swinging. Plains rushed the ball down the field, pushing deep into Athens’ territory only to turn the ball over on loss of downs.

Athens came out with a spread offense on the first series, and Plains forced them to a three and out on the Warriors’ first drive.  The first quarter was scoreless as both defenses played the run tough.  At the beginning of the 2nd quarter, Kyle Weller intercepted Athens quarterback Brandon Vice’s pass and returned it for a touchdown. The rest of the first half consisted of hard running from both teams, but the defenses held strong and didn’t allow scores from either team.

When the second half started,  Athens received the kick and stepped out of bounds deep in their own territory.  Plains’ offense struggled, turning the ball over. Athens utilized their run game, along with a few drive saving pass plays, to drive all the way down field and score.

The Plains offense came out of the second-half gate trying to run the ball but were stopped by the Athens defense stacking the box with nine players. The defensive strategy was successful in shutting down Plains' run game.

After a good punt and a penalty tacked on the end, Athens had the ball again deep in their own territory. Plains’ defense played tough and stopped them on third down, forcing the Warriors to punt. The Athens center snapped the ball low between the punter’s legs, which resulted in  a safety and Plains retaking the lead, 8 to 7. On Athens next drive, they came out executing well and drove the ball inside Plains’ 20 yard line. Plains played tough, but Vice scored on a quarterback draw, before completing a two point conversion on a pass play to the running back.  Athens went up 15 to 8.

After the kickoff, the Cards came out looking for a big play. Plains got a first down on a 15 yard reception by Ben.  Plains then tried to throw the ball deep the next few plays but were unable to connect and turned the ball over on downs, allowing Athens to run the clock out for the victory.

It was a tough loss once again for Plains, now 0-3. Tomorrow night, the Cardinals go against Williamsville, the top ranked team in the conference. Plains is still looking for the first win of the season and a major upset to generate momentum heading into the latter part of the season and the tough stretch of games that will determine if the Cardinals make the playoffs this year.


-Jake McNamara
The Cardinal