Every inch counts. The Brodhead-Juda football team learned that lesson the hard way Saturday in a 17-0 division IV state football playoff loss to the top-seeded Lodi Blue Devils, who won on the back of a huge third-quarter goal line stand.
With the score 7-0 in favor of the Blue Devils the Cardinals offense drove the ball within a yard of their end zone only to be denied by the stingy Lodi defense. A rush on fourth and one came up only inches short of the goal line.
A few big plays later and the Blue Devils were celebrating on the other side of the field after scoring their second touchdown of the game to bring the score to 14-0.
“It is high school kids and you are dealing with momentum and momentum swings can be heavy in your favor and they can be heavy in the other team’s favor. That is kind of way the game went. It was a game of big plays,” said Cardinals Head Coach Jim Matthys. “It is always that way when you get this far in the playoffs.”
Until that third quarter drive faltered in the red zone, the Cardinals had failed to get anything going on offense. In the first half the team’s seven offensive possessions ended without registering any first downs and all ended in punts.
The Lodi offense hadn’t done much better to that point either. The Cardinals defense shut down the Blue Devils throughout the first quarter until a 43-yard reverse late in the period set Lodi up for their first score – a quick snap 1-yard quarterback sneak with 9:58 left in the second quarter.
Things started clicking for the Blue Devils after that and with the momentum swing on their side after the impressive goal line stand, Lodi’s senior quarterback Lucas Stronach begin picking apart the Cardinals secondary. On an explosive 99-yard drive Stronach hit big 6-foot-5 Lodi senior tight end Bradley Bauman for receptions of 24-yards and then 40-yards to push the ball into Cardinals territory. One play after the 40-yard pitch and catch, Stronach found Lodi’s senior fullback Dakota Cable for an 18-yard touchdown strike with 1:10 left in the third quarter.
Stronach finished the day with 7 completions on 17 attempts, with 132 yards passing.
Stronach’s offensive prowess was featured as much as his defensive Saturday. The quarterback played both ways for Lodi in the team’s secondary. He helped shutdown any chance at a Cardinal comeback with two interceptions in the fourth quarter.
One of the interceptions led to a 36-yard field goal by Lodi’s freshmen place kicker Donnie Manke with 3:43 left in the fourth quarter, which brought the score to 17-0.
The game, however, was won on defense for the Blue Devils. Lodi kept the Cardinals to only 46 yards of total offense Saturday, and only 37 yards for the team’s heralded smash mouth running game. Lodi forced the Cardinals to try to win the game in the air, according Matthys.
“When you got ten guys in the box there is not a whole lot that you can do. When you get to this point you can’t ride your running game the whole way. When they are shutting it down you have got to throw,” Matthys said.
The loss was a big disappointment for the team’s core of seniors, who were hoping for a rematch against division foe Big Foot in the next round of the playoffs. Matthys hugged each one of the seniors after the game and told them that they had a lot to be proud of this year. “They do all the right things,” Matthys said. “They have nothing to be ashamed of. I think when all is said and done they are going to look back on it and see how well they really did play this year.”
The Cardinals closed out their 2009 campaign with 9 wins and 3 losses. Cardinals senior running back Ethan Douglas rushed for 17 yards on nine attempts; he also collected 14 yards on two receptions in the game. Senior quarterback Travis Hull completed five of 15 passes for nine yards.
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