Comeback falls short in opener
RANDOLPH - The Randolph Cardinals found a lot of things to hang their collective hats on when they took on Chambers/Wheeler Central here Aug. 30 in both teams’ season openers, unfortunately it didn’t result in a win for the home team.
The opening half was a tale of two quarters as the Renegades opened the first frame with a 22-0 advantage, but Randolph reacted by shutting out CWC in the second 12-minute session and putting up 22 points of its own to even things up and then took a 28-22 lead by halftime.
The Renegades went on in the second half to secure a 46-28 win and send the Cardinals to the locker room with an 0-1 record.
“We couldn’t have started any worse and yet it was one of the best comebacks I have ever been a part of,” long-time Cardinal head coach Mark Lech said. “We started off down 22-0 including a blocked punt for a touchdown. Then we rattled off 28 unanswered points to take a half-time lead.”
The Renegades went on in the second half to shut down the Randolph offense and put up 26 points to take the victory.
“The momentum didn’t carry over and we struggled to score in the second half,” the coach said. “I thought the kids battled great considering the start and they never gave up.”
A 21-yard run, the blocked punt for a score, a 41-yard pass and a couple of extra points in the first half put the Cardinals in the hole before they answered late in the first with a Gage Jensen 49-yard sprint to the endzone before the halftime whistle.
Ryan Engel and Dayton Winkelbauer got the Randolph aerial attack going in the second quarter with back-to-back hookups to even the score.
Winkelbauer found Engel from 10 yard away then found him from 25 yards away to make it 22-18.
Jensen ran in the conversion after the second Engel touchdown and score was 22-20, the Cardinals just down by two points.
“The seniors really stepped up and held the team together to give us a chance,” Lech said. “Ryan Engel had a big game with some big catches as well as an interception. He also led the team in tackles.”
Shaw Backer found pay dirt from four yards out and after another Jensen conversion run, Randolph went to the halftime locker room up 28-22.
The Renegades took the lead back in the third quarter on a 53-yard run and conversion to make it 30-28 then Michael Jesse scored his third touchdown of the game for CWC on a 7-yard run and the score was 3828 after he ran in the conversion.
Jesse hooked up with Elijah Heinz on a 16-yard pass play for the final touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter and the 46-28 final score was set.
The Cardinals rushed the ball for 189 yards on the night on 56 carries and Winkelbauer finished his evening 10-of-23 for 94 yards and the two touchdowns with no interceptions.
Engel gained 75 yards and scored twice in his five carries and Randolph had no fumbles while turning over the Renegades with a fumble recovery and two interceptions.
“The road doesn’t get any easier as we travel to Humphrey this week to take on Archangels Academy,” said Lech. “We will be back at practice this week to fix some mistakes and get ready for this Friday.”
Archangels shut down Winside in its first game of the season 54-8.
CWC (1-0) 22 0 16 8 - 46 RAN (0-1) 6 22 0 0 - 28 FIRST QUARTER CWC: Michael Jesse 21 run, Jesse run. (0-8).
CWC: Bocked punt for score , conversion failed. (0-14) CWC: Cooper Pokorny 41 pass from Jesse, Jesse run. (0-22).
RAN: Gage Jensen 49 run, conversion failed. (6-22). SECOND QUARTER RAN: Ryan Engel 10 pass from Dayton Winkelbauer, conversion failed. (12-22).
RAN: Engel 25 pass from Winkelbauer, Jensen run. (20-22) RAN: Shaw Backer 4 run, Jensen run.
(28-22) THIRD QUARTER CWC: Pokorny 53 run, Jesse run.
(28-30).
CWC: Jesse 7 run, Jesse run. (28-38). FOURTH QUARTER CWC: Elijah Heinz 16 pass from Jesse, Jacob Haburchak run. (28-46).