Cardinals End The Season At Aberdeen

As the Cardinals rolled into Aberdeen last Friday they had very little on the line in terms of their football futures this season.  Soda Springs had already been eliminated from any playoff potential long before this game and were coming off of a heartbreaking homecoming loss in their most competitive game of the season.  Now they faced the Tigers who were on the opposite side of the spectrum having already clinched a playoff berth as one of the top ranked teams in the state.  To put it bluntly nobody was expecting the Cardinals to put up much of a fight in this game.  However with nothing to lose the Cardinals showed up and put forth a valiant effort in this game.

Soda Springs won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half.  The Tigers took their opening drive down the field at a fairly rapid pace and put the first touchdown on the board with a little over nine minutes still remaining in the first quarter.  Following a Soda Springs punt the Tigers were on the move once again.  This time the Cardinals defense would stiffen in the red zone forcing Aberdeen to settle for a field goal.  The first quarter would finish with the Tigers leading 10-0 over the Cardinals.

The Soda Springs offense once again struggled to move the ball and would have to punt once again.  The Cardinal defense continued to battle and made some good plays but on a big fourth down attempt for Aberdeen the Cards gave up a big play.  The Tigers took advantage of the mistake by the Cardinals and extended the lead to 18-0 with still over ten minutes left in the first half.  Following that score Aberdeen caught everyone off guard when they successfully performed an onside kick giving them a short field to score on which they quickly did now leading 25-0.  

The Cardinals finally began to move the ball on the ensuing possession.  The drive's notable play was a long pass to Dunford for a sizable gain for the Cards.  Unfortunately this drive fizzled out at the thirty yard line where Soda turned the ball over on downs.  Another defensive breakdown followed and the Tigers scored on a long run play to close out the first half 32-0.

The Cardinals seemed to have some renewed energy as the second half kicked off.  The offense got things rolling with another big pass play this time to Peterson.  The Cardinals were mixing in some wildcat formations with Cole Garbett and Ryder Bendtsen getting some direct snaps from center.  Once again the Cardinals would fail to take advantage of the good drive when inside of the twenty yard line they threw an interception turning the ball over.  The Cardinal defense answered back, holding the Tigers and forcing a punt.

The rest of the game would pass quickly with a running clock.  The Cardinals put together one more good drive including another big pass to Cole Garbett.  This drive eventually got to the five yard line with Soda facing a fourth and goal.  The Cardinals would only get halfway there and turn the ball over on downs and the game would end with the score still sitting at 32-0.  The Cardinals finish the season with an 0-8 record with seven of their eight opponents making it to postseason play.

  There is no question that this year's football season has been a struggle for player’s, coaches, and fans of the Soda Springs Cardinals.  There is just no avoiding harboring some feelings of frustration when your team has a down year and finishes the season without a single notch in the win column.  However Soda Springs fans are fiercely loyal and will no doubt back their team again next season.  A fresh crop of players will join with those returning as they seek to end the long drought that the Cardinals are currently in.  Those returning will have valuable experience to bring to the table while the new freshman will be coming off of an undefeated eighth grade season.  As for the Seniors that stuck it out through the long winless season they too have gained some valuable experience that they can carry with them into the next stage of life in addition to earning a lot of respect for not throwing in the towel when the chips were down.  Wins and losses on a scoreboard don’t always measure the success of an individual.  To all of the young men that stuck it out through all of the difficulties I say job well done.