“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.”
The Bellaire Cardinals stood holding this banner as they prepared to take on their 7-0 rival, the Lamar Redskins. And heart was what they gave. But even with Bellaire’s impressive showing offensively and defensively, the Lamar Redskins’ ground game barely ran away with the victory in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals fell to the Redskins in the heartbreaking 28-21 battle, ending a seven game winning streak and the run for the 20-5A division title.
For the first half, defense was the name of the game. Both sides made key stops for most of the first quarter until Lamar found the end zone with just seconds remaining to go up 7-0.
The ball seemed to fall in Lamar’s favor when they followed with an interception to kill Bellaire’s retaliating drive. But when the Redskins’ center snapped the ball over his quarterback’s head, senior Brelynd Goods was there in an instant for a 15-yard fumble recovery inside Lamar’s 20-yard line. The Cardinals immediately capitalized on the turnover as junior Xzaviar Campbell carried the ball into the end zone 8 yards untouched. An extra point made it a 7-7 ball game.
The second quarter introduced a major factor of the night. Injury. Senior wide receiver Ryheem Malone left the game temporarily in the second quarter, but fought through the pain to return in the second half. His toughness allowed him to catch six balls for over 100 yards and earn him Offensive Player of the Game.
As the clock wound down, Lamar snuck in a touchdown with 24 seconds to go in the half to take the lead 14-7.
The Redskins came out of the gates hot in the third quarter with a touchdown drive to go up 21-7. The Cardinals did not back down. They marched down the field from the 32-yard line to Lamar’s 8. Things got dramatic on 4th and 1 when junior quarterback Trevon Smith threw a pass that was tipped by a double-covered Malone into the hands of sophomore Courtney Lark for a touchdown to tighten the game 21-14. Smith would end the night with 215 passing yards, completing 17 of 27 passes, 71 rushing yards and a touchdown.
The Cardinals defense embraced the momentum shift, forcing a Redskins three and out. On the Cardinal’s following drive, after converting on 3rd and 14, Smith came up with a 26-yard rushing touchdown. The long-awaited rivalry game was tied 21-21.
Time ticked down in the fourth quarter as both defenses made stop after stop, fighting to keep the other offense off the field. But it was Lamar who broke the offensive silence with a 29-yard pass completion for a touchdown to close the game 28-21.
From a statistical point of view, the game could not have been closer. The Cardinals led in first downs, passing yards and time of possession, but Lamar dominated the running game with two running backs each averaging over 10 yards-per-carry. On defense, Cardinal Seniors Julio Lozano and Jesse Blackmon each had a sack to match Lamar’s two.
The 7-2 Cardinals gave an extraordinary effort and fought to the very end. They take on Westside at 7:00 p.m. at Butler Stadium on Friday.
