The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Left to right, Corbin Clifton, Brock Jungels and Cody Otto swarm Cavalier quarterback Breckon Thorpe for little to no gain.
Corbin Clifton strides past the defense for one of his three touchdowns in the Cards' big win over Cavalier. Clifton was efficient with his scoring plays, as he accounted for 50 all-purpose yards, with 35 of those on the ground and 15 in the air. On defense, Clifton finished with three solo tackles.
In their illustrious gridiron lore, the Cavalier Tornadoes have seen their fair share of triumph and heartbreak.
In between six state championships, won from levels spanning the original Class B to nine-man and the then-Class AA level, the Tornadoes hit a string of bad luck the last four years.
Four straight losses in the Dakota Bowl in the nine-man division were a double-edged sword, and moved Cavalier back up to 11B this season.
Up in the higher classification, but now struggling with numbers, the Tornadoes took a 1-1 record to Carrington on September 1.
The Cards showed no mercy for the Region 2 newcomers, scoring the first 33 points and nearly pitching a shutout with a 33-8 win.
Junior Corbin Clifton scored three touchdowns, two on the ground and one via pass, and sophomore McKade Zink added two more scores for CHS.
"It was a great team win," Cardinal Coach Kyle Smith said. "We've gotten a little bit better every week, and we played 3 1/2 quarters of really good football Friday night."
Zink got the scoring going for the Cards on the second drive of the night after both teams' initial drives stalled on downs. He caught a short swing pass from Josh Bickett, made several Tornadoes miss and outran the secondary the rest of the way for a 55-yard touchdown. With the two-point conversion, Carrington took an 8-0 lead.
CHS would make it 15-0 later in the first quarter on Clifton's 15-yard touchdown catch, another one in which the Cards let their playmakers use their speed in open space. Grady Shipman added the extra point kick.
Clifton and Zink would later tally short touchdown runs in the second quarter to give the Cards a 27-0 lead at halftime.
The break didn't slow down Smith's team, and Clifton punctuated a nice drive with a 19-yard run for Carrington's largest lead of the night at 33-0.
An inadvertent downing of the ball on the ensuing kickoff return at their own two-yard line was indicative of the type of night Cavalier was having, but the Tornadoes made one last stand.
Cavalier's Jamison "JJ" Thorpe finished a 98-yard drive with a 10-yard scamper to put the Tornadoes on the board, and that sequence of events was the one breakdown that Smith could point to as a mental mistake on his team's part.
The visitors had one more chance to score in the final minutes of the game, but their drive stalled on downs.
Bickett completed 9-of-12 passing for 122 yards, almost all of that coming in the first half. He spread the ball around, throwing to Zink twice for 60 yards and Shipman three times for 32 yards in the win.
Running back Logan Weninger had another nice evening in the backfield, running for 84 yards on 12 carries.
Jake Otto led the defense with 10 total tackles, evenly split between solo and assists, and added two sacks. Bickett, Brock Jungels and Shipman all had four solo stops.
Zink intercepted Cavalier quarterback Breckon Thorpe twice, accounting for the Cards' two forced turnovers.
"I was very happy with our effort and attitude. We need to continue to improve each week and fix the things that are fixable as we continue the thick of our region schedule," said Smith.
This past Friday, the Cards (2-1) had a very-important road test against a Thompson (1-2) team reeling and in need of a win.
Homecoming Week at CHS is upcoming, and the 2-1 Grafton Spoilers will be the opponent at Stadium '22 beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, September 15.
Class 11B Region 2 Football
Carrington 33, Cavalier 8
Cav. 0 0 0 8 - 8
Cgtn. 15 12 6 0 - 33
First Quarter
Carrington: McKade Zink 55 yard pass from Josh Bickett (2 pt. conversion good)
Carrington: Corbin Clifton 15 yard pass from J. Bickett (Grady Shipman kick)
Second Quarter
Carrington: C. Clifton 5 yard run (kick failed)
Carrington: Mc. Zink 3 yard run (pass failed)
Third Quarter
Carrington: C. Clifton 19 yard run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
Cavalier: Jamison Thorpe 10 yard run (J. Thorpe pass from Breckon Thorpe)
Carrington Statistics
Offense
Passing: J. Bickett 9-12-122 yards-2 TD; Shipman 0-1-0
Rushing: Logan Weninger 12-84; C. Clifton 6-35-2 TD; J. Bickett 3-21; Jaxon Schaefer 1-11; Mc. Zink 2-4-TD; Gabe Clifton 2-4; Shipman 1-2
Receiving: Mc. Zink 2-60-TD; Shipman 3-32; C. Clifton 2-15-TD; Schaefer 2-15
Defense
Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Jake Otto (5-5); J. Bickett (4-2); Brock Jungels (4-2); Shipman (4-1); Aaron Neumiller (4-1); C. Clifton (3-0); Weninger (3-0); Cody Otto (1-4); Tate Wolsky (1-1); Maverick Zink (1-0); Carson Ova (1-0)
Interceptions: Mc. Zink 2
Sacks: Jungels, J. Otto
Tackles for Loss: J. Otto 2
