It wasn’t the start that Landrum wanted for its season. The Cardinals, coming off their best season in recent history, traveled to 3A Broome on Friday night and came away with opening night heartache. The Centurions ran for 333 yards en route to a 42-0 victory.
On the one hand, the Cardinal defense had trouble with the Centurion run game. On the other hand, the Cardinal offense couldn’t get things going.
The Cardinals went into this season with new offensive coordinators and a new quarterback. Some struggles may be expected on the first night under the lights.
It wasn’t as though Landrum didn’t move the ball, however. The first drive of the second quarter for the Cardinals stalled out on the Centurions’ 26-yard-line. Landrum turned the ball over on downs.
That was Landrum’s best drive of the half; the Cardinals went into the locker rooms down 21-0. On the first drive in the second half, the Cardinals had a costly turnover. Broome’s Kenny Herr picked up a fumble and ran it back for a 31-yard touchdown.
The Cardinals got just three drives in the rest of the half. All three ended in punts from Landrum’s side of the field. That’s exactly how the “double wing” Broome offense is designed to run. The Centurions run the ball and run the ball and run the ball, wasting the clock away for opponents, who get few opportunities for their offenses to get on the field. The Centurion offense was working overtime on Friday night.
The Cardinals ran for 54 yards and passed for 62. T.J. Fincher led Landrum in rushing, with 21 yards, and in receiving, with 32 yards. Chris Shulman had 30 yards receiving.
As Landrum coach Russell Mahaffey gathered his players after the game, he stared at them and pointed to the scoreboard.
“I told them to look at the scoreboard and see what that feels like inside of you,” he said.
And even with the rough start, Mahaffey saw a positive.
“We didn’t give up and just roll away,” he said. “I’m proud of my team. We fought hard.”