by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com
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On Friday night, North Andrew played its 400th game in 8-man since MSHSAA sanctioned 8-man in 1988. In addition, the Cardinals were celebrating homecoming against St. Joseph Christian. Coming off a disappointing loss to Worth County, they were looking to rebound against the Lions.
St. Joseph Christian took the opening kickoff but was facing a fourth and 5 at their own 20 when Mason Stewart completed a short pass to Cy Carlson, who advanced into North Andrew territory. But the drive was stalled when North Andrew's Avrey Miller recovered a fumble at the North Andrew 19-yard line. Braxon Linville took advantage of the turnover with a 61-yard touchdown run to give North Andrew a 6-0 lead with 8:07 left in the first quarter.
After the Lions' next drive stalled, they were able to force a North Andrew fumble at the St. Joseph Christian 35-yard line. Peyton Hausman tied the game with a 23-yard touchdown as time expired in the first quarter to tie the game at 6.
The Cardinals answered on their first drive of the 2nd quarter. Linville answered with another touchdown run, this one from 12 yards. He completed the octopus (TD plus conversion) to put the Cardinals up 14-6 with 7:14 left in the half. The Lions turned it over on downs with 2:21 left in the half, which left just enough time for the Cardinals, who scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Linville to Levi McAfee as the first half time expired. The Cardinals led 20-6 at the half.
The Cardinals got the ball first in the 2nd half but were facing a 4th and 15 from St. Joseph Christian's 27-yard line. Linville was intercepted by Logan Hubble, but the Lions were flagged for roughing the quarterback. Mattox Sybert took advantage with a 13-yard touchdown run to put the Cardinals up 26-6.
The Lions answered when Peyton Hausman's 53-yard run got the Lions to the 1-yard line. Cy Carlson scored on the next play on a run to the right. A failed conversion made it 26-12 Cardinals with 4:37 left in the 3rd.
The Lions looked like they were about to cut the lead to a one-score game with about 6 minutes left when Mason Stewart scored on a quarterback keeper, but they were called for holding. A fumble at the 8-yard line with 5:36 left ended the drive. The Lions would get the ball back when they stripped it from the Cardinals with 3:37 left, but they could not score. North Andrew ran out the clock to win 26-12.
Cardinals coach Dustin Williams said, "I was really happy with our effort tonight and our kids' ability to play physically. Our defense played great tonight all game. Christian does a lot of things so well that it takes everyone playing together, and the kids did that tonight."
Braxon Linville had two rushing and two passing touchdowns for North Andrew. Coach Williams said, "Braxon Linville was able to carry the ball tonight in an old-school downhill type of game. As he stated to his team, that doesn’t happen without how well our offensive line played all night and our other backs blocking so well. This was a great team win."
North Andrew is 2-2 and 1-1 in the GRC West. They will play at Albany next week. Albany is 4-0 and 2-0 in the GRC West.
St. Joseph Christian coach James Schoonover was complimentary of the Cardinals while expressing concerns about his team's execution. He said, "Hats off to North Andrew. They had a great game plan and executed it well. It's the second week in a row we have been out-coached and out-executed, and we have to figure out a better way to play as a team in every moment."
St. Joseph Christian is 2-2 and 0-2 in the GRC West. They will host Worth County next week. Worth County is 2-2 and 1-1 in the GRC West.
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