Cardinal opened the season by allowing 28 unanswered points in the second half of a loss to Garrettsville Garfield.
The Huskies flipped the script in Week 2 by using a big second half to pull away from host Pymatuning Valley, 47-22.
“Talking to one of their people, he said if we played in the first half the way we played in the second half we would have had a running clock on them,” said Cardinal coach Eric Cardinal. “I thought we played with a lot of heart, especially coming after last week. I was pleased to see that.”
Things didn’t go Cardinal’s way early as the Huskies lost starting running back Trey Shirkey to an injury as the Huskies drove into the red zone. Pymatuning Valley’s defense held on fourth down and shortly after the Huskies lost another ball carrier in Luke Timas.
“Two of our better defenders and two of our better running backs were out five minutes into the game,” Cardinal said. “We regrouped but we were kind of shell-shocked out there.”
Tyson Sinclair and Brice Hogue carried the load for the Huskies, who took a 14-6 lead into halftime.
Pymatuning Valley standout Gaige Willis, an Edinboro wrestling and football recruit, tied the game early in the third quarter before the Huskies pulled away.
“He’s the real deal and they pounded him a little bit,” Cardinal said. “They scored but we came right back and scored and then recovered a fumble in their territory. We didn’t score there but we had them deep and then stopped them by batting a pass.”
Hayden Cummins, who scooped up a fumble and returned it for a score last week, then picked off a deflected pass and scored his second defensive touchdown in as many weeks.
“I rushed in, well aware that it would be a pass, and our nose, Cam Klepper, got there before me and started to sack the quarterback,” Cummins said. “I realized this and followed up to help, but he threw the ball, and Cam got a hand on it. I jumped up and caught the bobbled pass and ran it right in.”
The Huskies recorded four interceptions in the game.
“Except for being dashed on two or three plays by Willis, I thought we played a good all-around game, especially because we were back on our heels in the first quarter,” Cardinal said. “I think if we score in the first quarter and Trey doesn’t get hurt, I think it would have been a different game.”
Cardinal hosts 2-0 Grand Valley next Friday.
The Mustangs have outscored their opponents, 80-28, through two weeks, but the Huskies now have some momentum and much-needed confidence heading into their final non-conference game of the season.
“It was very important for us to come back strong this week because we knew that a 0-2 season is a recipe for disaster and starts discouraging the team as a whole,” Cummins said. “We really worked hard this week to get it together so we could start off Week 3 1-1.”
