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A 21-0 Landrum Cardinal (5-4, 3-1) win over the Liberty Red Devils (3-6, 1-3) at Cardinal Stadium Friday night produced everything a Senior Night could ask for playoff significance: a shutout, and plenty of senior smiles. 

 

In their first year in AA Region 1, Coach Jason Farmer’s young team has secured second place and the opportunity to host a home playoff game. And while the regular season isn’t quito over yet with one game remaining on the road against Blacksburg (0-9, 0-5), it’s clear the Cards have established themselves as the new kids on the Region block. 

 

While this year’s Senior class is small, it’s clear that Andrew McPeters, Ronnie Beleu, Jack Clark, Beckett Driggers, Ryan Bunleut, Eli Graham, and Xander Cole have had a significant impact on the team and community. It was also clear the underclassmen wanted to see their teammates off with a win.

 

The first half was a defensive battle full of big hits and missed opportunities for both teams. The Cards punched the ball into the endzone on their second possession, but a rare extra-point miss left them with only a six-point going into halftime. 

 

Landrum kicked off to start the second half, only to get the ball back on a fumble recovery that led to a short Colton Link touchdown run. Link added a two-point conversion to push the Cardinal lead to 14-0. 

 

Another Liberty fumble set up a halfback option pass from Link to the Cardinal’s other star running back, Braden Mashtere, at the 5 yard line. Junior Colton Link ran in another touchdown and Eli Graham added an extra point to give them 21 unanswered points. The rest of the game was taken care of by Ronnie Beleu and the Cardinal defense.

 

The 21-0 victory was the fourth game of the season the Cardinals have held a team to single digits, and their second shut out. It’s also their sixth game scoring over twenty points. 

 

Both teams banded together to raise thousands of dollars for Coach John Turner of Blacksburg, who has had to step away from his team to battle stage 4 colon cancer.

 

Their final Landrum regular season game will be against Coach Turner’s team with a gametime of 7:30 on October 28 at Blacksburg High School, in Blacksburg, SC. The weather is expected to be dry and in the low fifties.  The link for those wanting to help Coach Turner in his fight against cancer is https://www.gofundme.com/f/jets-fight.