First, they defeated Palmyra-Eagle 42-6. The win kept their perfect record intact at 5-0.

Second, they won their homecoming game, and it’s always a lot more fun to win a homecoming game than to lose it.

Third, they named their football field and track in honor of Gary Larsen, someone who has contributed greatly to their sports program. While the outcome of the contest was probably never really in doubt, the Panthers did give their hosts a tough battle for a while. The score was 0-0 at the end of the first quarter. Brodhead scored their first TD on a three-yard TD run by senior Ethan Douglas with 10:52 remaining in the first half. The point after touchdown was blocked.

The Cardinals scored again with 5:12 remaining in the half when sophomore quarterback David Earleywine found Douglas on a nine-yard pass. Douglas ran in the two-point conversion to make it 14-0. Because of their punishing ground game, the Cardinals haven’t had to pass much, but when they have Earleywine has been effective. He was 3-3 on Friday for 70 yards and the touchdown.

The Cardinals started to pull away in the second half. Jake Covert, Brodhead-Juda’s 5-9, 155 junior fullback, scored on a four-yard run with 6:44 to go in the third quarter.

Palmyra-Eagle tried to get back in the game with their first (and only) touchdown with 6:41remaining in the third period. The score cut the margin to 22-6 but it didn’t stay that way for long. Trent Jordan returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-6. Earleywine passed to junior wide receiver Mike Petersen for the two-point conversion.

Brodhead-Juda scored its next to last TD four minutes later when Covert dashed 14 yards into the end zone. Covert carried 10 times for 84 yards in the contest. The pass for two points after that touchdown failed.

The safe lead gave the Cardinals a chance to play reserves in the fourth quarter. Senior Brayden Fritsch, a more than capable running back, scored the Cardinals last TD on a five-yard run with 2:20 to go. The kick for the extra point failed. Rain and wind hurt the kicking game as the Cardinals had trouble keeping their kickoffs inbounds. Both teams also had trouble hanging onto the ball in wet conditions. Brodhead-Juda fumbled three times and lost all three. The Panthers fumbled four times but lost just one.

For the contest, Brodhead-Juda had 18 first downs to six for the visitors. Of those 16, came by rushing, one by passing and one by penalty. The Panthers tried 18 passes and completed six for 89 yards. Homecoming king Devin Seitz had an interception for Brodhead-Juda to kill a Panther drive.

Brodhead-Juda rushed 47 times for 339 yards. Douglas led the Cardinals with 20 carries for 152 yards. The Cardinals ran off 50 offensive plays to 46 for Palmyra-Eagle and gained 409 yards to 153 for the Panthers.

Eliminating penalties is one thing Brodhead-Juda Coach Jim Matthys may be working on this week. The Cardinals were penalized 10 times for 70 yards.

The match pitting the Brodhead Cardinals against the Parkview Vikings was intense, but at the end of it, the Cards -- lead by seniors Dana Lewis, Amanda Johnson, Holly Licht, and Megan Heller -- succumbed to the teamwork of the Lady Vikes.

“We’re about where I expected to be at this time of the year,” winning coach Kirchenwitz said.

“We’ve had a lot of tough tourneys, so our win/loss record is not where I’d like it to be,” he admitted.

Brodhead came out strong, winning the first game 25 to 17. The Vikings came back, winning the second game 25 to 21 and the third 25 to 16. Brodhead rallied in the fourth game, winning 25 to 17, then lost the fifth game 15 to 7.

“We played at their level, and not at ours,” diagnosed Brodhead junior Mariah Mohns after the match.

After a run for the state tournament last year, the Lady Cards are on a very different trajectory this year having lost many strong seniors. In an interview early in the season, senior Dana Lewis (#10) predicted it would be a rebuilding year for the team, and she has been proved right as they have not faired particularly well in match play. (They stand at 2 and 3 in the Rock Valley South Conference with this loss; Parkview improves to 4 and 1.)

A prominent local newspaper attributed to this record in a negative fashion, referring to Brodhead as a “freshman-laden club.” By similar logic, and to a greater degree, the Parkview varsity volleyball team is senior-laden. Some are tempted to attribute the Brodhead loss to a supposed difference in experience level of the members of each team. The talents those Brodhead freshmen bring to the court are remarkable; they all play with skill beyond their years. Particularly, setter Amanda Pickel (#15) is brilliant at reading the other team. If a backset is called for to deliver the most forceful blow, she makes the decision quickly, and executes it gracefully. Both Heather Shanks (#11) and Taylor Douglas (#7) are explosive on the net. Mariah Ahrens (#9) and Brianna Hicks (#4) are alert, versatile players. If anything, the Brodhead team is skewed towards upper classmen, with eight juniors and seniors and five freshman. There are no sophomores.