Cardinals triumph over numbers but fall in playoffs

Playing with a roster of just 12 players all season, somehow Cromwell-Wright not only finished the season, but gave Hill City/Northland a scare in a 30-20 road loss on Tuesday in the opening round of the Section 5 nine-man football tournament.

The Cardinals trailed 22-20 at halftime. Despite trailing, they appeared to be the team controlling the line of scrimmage.

“At halftime I felt like we controlled the first half but were down two because we gave up big plays,” said Cards coach Jeff Gronner. “We gave up one long run, one long screen pass, and a kickoff return.”

Unfortunately for the Cards, their lack of numbers proved to be difficult to overcome in the second half.

“The second half we did not make any plays on offense,” Gronner said. “They slowly wore us down on defense. We just could not get off the field.”

Despite the loss, there were some highlights for the Cards and their fans.

“I thought my only senior, Taye Anderson, ran the ball well and played one of his better games on defense stopping the run,” Gronner said. “I thought Zevvus Smith blocked really well and we ran behind Andrew Kosloski a lot.”

The offense wasn't the only side of the ball that had some success.

“On defense Jaeger Goranson and Zevvus have been our leaders all season,” Gronner said.

While the season is over much earlier than Cards fans are used to, it still was an impressive year for such a small roster of players.

“From a win-loss [perspective], it was not a successful season, but having only 12 players, and being able to finish an entire season is something I am extremely proud of these guys for,” said Gronner. “Not only finishing a season, but our last six games were all one score or less games. So we played six games in a row that the outcome was in doubt until the final minutes. I think my guys are a bunch of warriors for the season they had!”