Cardinals rely on legs, not wings in homecoming win

By Jason Olson
SportsPrepZone Editor

Coon Rapids is 1-0.

Coon Rapids head coach Jon Young is focusing the attention of his team's 41-12, drubbing of Elk River as the first win to open the second half of the season. And despite its 1-3 overall record, last Friday's win left the Cardinals happy, especially with the running game.

Cardinals sophomore running back Antonio Ford spun his tires for a school record 368 yards rushing on 40 attempts, scoring five times on runs of 1, 51, 5, 20 and 4 yards. He already has rushed for 198, 112, 58 and 20 yards this season. Ford smashed Coon Rapids ' 10-year-old mark of 237 yards on the ground by Clay Buchberger in 1999.

Getting the win at homecoming was as much fun as it was a relief for the coaching staff. "We told the kids that you win the homecoming game and we start off the second half of the season 1-0 and then we move on from there," he said.

Passing the ball wasn't an option for the Cardinals which were intercepted twice in five attempts, including a ball that was picked off on the second play of the game that enabled Elk River to take a 7-0 lead.

" Anoka and Blaine really shut him [Ford] down well," Young said. "But what we try to do is set up the run with the pass."

Coon Rapids played without senior Adam Hopps, not because of his heart condition, that he was cleared to play with, but a knee injury that happened Tuesday. "He tried to be a tough guy and not tell us until (Friday). He injured his knee and couldn't go for us."

Brandon Flippen stepped in, without warning, to captain the offense and manage the game.

"He should've had one more touchdown pass before the half, he missed another slant that would've been a touchdown, but he did what he had to do to manage the game," Young said.

The Cardinals defense came out in the second half, making stops, especially deep in its own end on third and fourth downs.

"Our defense did a great job tonight. They allowed one touchdown and made a big stop on fourth and eight on the first play of the fourth quarter," Young said. "If they would've scored, it could've changed the momentum of the game."

Jason Olson is at jason.olson[at]ecm-inc.com.