CARDINALS COME UP JUST SHORT
* CONTRIBUTED BY NATE DICROSS
YOUNGSTOWN, OH –
In a thrilling Friday night matchup, the Akron Buchtel Griffins clashed with the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals in an intense showdown. The energy was electric as the two teams took to the field. Cardinal Mooney struck first with an impressive 47-yard field goal by Mason Janis, taking an early 3-0 lead with 5:10 remaining in the first quarter. But Buchtel wasn’t fazed and quickly responded.
With just under two minutes left in the opening quarter, Buchtel’s Justin Hill plowed through the Cardinal Mooney defense with a powerful one-yard touchdown run. Although the PAT was blocked, Buchtel took the lead at 6-3. The lead, however, was short-lived, as Cardinal Mooney answered back in the second quarter with a one-yard touchdown run by Brady Desmond. The PAT was unsuccessful, but the Cardinals took a 9-6 lead with 9:03 left in the quarter.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the third quarter when Buchtel’s Stevie Diamond connected with Demetrice Coates for a 19-yard touchdown pass. Despite a blocked PAT, Buchtel regained the lead at 12-9 with 9:17 on the clock.
The game intensified in the fourth quarter. Justin Hill, showcasing his incredible speed and skill, dashed for a spectacular 46-yard touchdown run for Buchtel. A successful two-point conversion extended Buchtel’s lead to 20-9 with just over four minutes remaining.
As tensions mounted, the Buchtel defense stepped up, with Zaire Lewis intercepting a Cardinal Mooney pass and returning it an astonishing 72 yards for a momentum-shifting touchdown. Although the PAT was blocked, Buchtel surged ahead at 26-9 with only 2:52 left in the game.
Cardinal Mooney refused to go down without a fight. Ashton O’Brien connected with Carlos Gomez for a 20-yard touchdown pass in the closing minutes, and Mason Janis successfully converted the PAT, narrowing the gap to 26-16 with just over a minute left in the game.
However, despite Cardinal Mooney’s late surge, time ran out, and the Akron Buchtel Griffins emerged victorious with a hard-fought 26-16 road win over the Cardinal Mooney Cardinals.
