Last season, Landrum got the monkey off its back of sorts. The Cardinals beat Polk County 34-26, snapping an eight-game losing streak. The win catapulted the Cardinals to one of its more successful seasons in the history of the program.
With that said, the Cardinals expect that the Little Big House will be rocking on tonight. Polk will be itching to start a new winning streak.
“We are expecting a stadium full of fans like we had last year,” Landrum coach Russell Mahaffey said. “It’s always a great football atmosphere.”
A big factor in this game will be how much time each offense is on the field, Mahaffey said. A key for the Cardinals will be getting their defense off of the field.
“We’re going to have to keep them from controlling the football,” Mahaffey said. “We need to give our offense plenty of time with the ball.”
Last week, the Cardinals offense looked like it finally found its rhythm. The Cardinals attacked Walhalla with speed and precision that showed flashes of the dominant force that pushed them to last year’s success.
“We’re excited about the explosive way we played offense last week,” Mahaffey said. “We hope to continue that. We also hope to get more of our athletes involved this week.”
The Cardinals have been ravaged by injuries and a stomach bug. Peyton McCarter has yet to step onto the field healthy this season. The senior receiver is an instrumental part of the Cardinal offense. Also, starting center Matt Pace was missing last week. Defensively, one the Cardinals best tacklers Gavin Bishop has yet to suit up.
No matter what, however, the atmosphere on Friday night should be a positive that helps Landrum going forward, Mahaffey said.
“I think it helps our team,” he said. “We look forward to the fans and the excitement.”
A new chapter of the rivalry begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Polk County.