Cardinal entered Friday’s Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division showdown at Fairport Harding with a 1-4 record, but the Huskies had nothing to be ashamed of.
Their first five opponents had won 24 of 34 contests this season, leaving the Huskies with one of the most challenging schedules in the league and the area.
Cardinal built a 17-0 halftime lead on the way to a 30-12 win over the Skippers.
“We were pleased,” said Cardinal coach Eric Cardinal. “I liked our effort in a lot of ways. We shot ourselves in the foot in a number of ways, we counted unofficially 110 yards in penalties and there were some significant ones, but I liked our effort.”
Trey Shirkey ran for a 79-yard touchdown and Cam Klepper booted a 27-yard field goal to give the Huskies an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
Jacob Gotham scored on a 10-yard run in the second quarter.
The Skippers got back in the game when Nathin Bagin ran for a 5-yard score in the third but Luke Timas broke off a 59-yard scoring run to put the Huskies on top, 23-6.
Sammy Schuster pulled the Skippers to within 23-12 with his 1-yard scoring run in the third quarter but again the Huskies responded.
This time, quarterback Matt Carney connected with Tyson Sinclair on a 27-yard touchdown pass to close out the scoring.
Carney finished 5-of-11 passing for 85 yards and the touchdown a week after throwing for 97 yards and two scores against Cuyahoga Heights.
“I think Matt has come into his own,” Cardinal said. “He has now started 16 high school games and he’s just past halfway through his junior year. It’s always a good thing when you have that much experience. He’s starting to figure out a lot of stuff. Matt had a stellar game last week against Cuyahoga Heights. We didn’t throw as much tonight but he was pretty accurate and threw for a touchdown.”
Shirkey led the Huskies with 100 rushing yards on just eight carries while Timas finished with six rushes for 60 yards and Sinclair had 59 on six touches.
Crossland Robinson had another solid outing as he led the Huskies with 33 receiving yards. Last week, he caught two touchdown passes.
Cardinal outgained Fairport, 383-235.
“We played a little bit of musical chairs with people, so I thought it was a team victory,” Cardinal said. “I like to recognize those guys that get the yards, but you don’t get the yards unless the other guys are blocking somebody.”
Hayden Cummins led the Huskies on defense with seven tackles and a sack.
The Huskies, who improved to 2-4, host Kirtland (6-0) on Friday.
