LANDRUM – Landrum spotted Chesnee a 21-0 lead in the first quarter of Friday’s game, but when the clock ran out after 48 minutes of play, Chesnee’s Eagles just managed to escape with a 36-29 win over a fired-up Cardinal team that scored four touchdowns, and executed the way that head coach Jason Farmer knew they could.

Landrum (now 1-4 overall, and 0-1 in the conference) got it going with Dalton Kuykendall’s touchdown run, not quite three minutes into the third quarter at Cardinal Stadium. Less than four minutes later, Chesnee went up by another touchdown, but Cardinal receiver Kolbe Pruitt snagged Michael Clark’s pass for a long gain to the Eagle 21.  With 2:11 left in the third quarter, Clark hit Pruitt with a TD pass. The PAT kick was good, and by the end of the quarter, the Cards had made a 29-14 game of it. They were far from done.

Chesnee scored its final points early in the fourth quarter following a short reception and long TD run by Kobe Miller.

Shortly afterward, Austin Hutchins scampered down the left side for a long Cardinal touchdown run, and, after another successful PAT attempt, the Cardinals cut the Eagles’ lead to 36-21.

Runs by Hutchins took Landrum’s ball to the Chesnee five. Shortly after, Clark scored on a keeper.

To at least tie the Eagles, Landrum needed a two-point conversion at some point. They got it this time, when Clark hit Kuykendall in the end zone, and the score was 36-29, where it stayed, as Chesnee wisely ran out the clock on its final possession.

After the game, Farmer told his players, “I’m proud of you . . . Let’s go beat St. Joe’s.” The Cardinals next visit St. Joseph’s Catholic on Friday, Oct. 6.

Referring to Clark, Hutchins, Kuykendall and some of his other players, Farmer noted, “They had a really good night. We finally executed. These kids can play football.” He also acknowledged, “We can’t dig a 21-0 hole. I did feel good about the way the Cardinals kept fighting. I told everybody we have a good football team here.”