Football
By: Steve Feitl
On a hot and humid Saturday morning, the Lawrence Cardinal varsity football squad learned why its coaches had run the team hard each and every day for the past two weeks.
Despite the draining weather conditions and constant pressure from a tough South Hunterdon team, the Cardinals emerged from their scrimmage victorious, 21-12.
First-year head coach Rob Radice was pleased with the preseason performance.
"I was happy to see we played hard for the entire game," he said. "Even with the weather, they didn’t lose their intensity. On top of that, a lot of kids got involved and touched the ball. But more than anything, it was nice to see the intensity."
Starting quarterback Armando Rosario played a solid game making clean pitches to his backs, finding his receivers, and when necessary, running it himself. His 20-plus-yard jaunt around the left side put the Cardinals up, 6-0, after their first offensive possession. Placekicker Ryan Dunn added the extra point to increase the lead to seven points.
The muggy conditions were a definite concern in the case of the defense. With Mother Nature already making it difficult to breathe, the defensive line got no consideration from the South Hunterdon no-huddle offense. Radice observed that even with all the conditioning, many of his lineman were still winded.
He hoped it showed the players that as hard as they worked the past few weeks, more work will be necessary to get ready for the season opener Sept. 9 at West Windsor-Plainsboro North.
The defense stayed strong for most of the first half, but finally the no-huddle offense seemed to get rolling for South Hunterdon. Lucas Lyons ran in the end zone from 1 yard out to pull the visitors within one point, 7-6.
The Cardinal offense went back to work in the second half. On consecutive plays, running back Orlando Kane took the ball 30 yards upfield around the left side, while Rosario kept it and ran 10 yards up the right side. That was followed by back Gary Victor and Kane both gaining 15-plus yards. With the Cardinals just a yard away, Roasrio kept it and pushed up the middle for the second Lawrence score.
Radice was pleased to see the offense clicking well and so many different players contributing for yards.
"The offense did a lot of things pretty well today," he said. "We were getting 4 and 5 yards a carry, and the times we were stopped, we stopped ourselves.
"We know we must improve in order to win games in the regular season, but we do have that confidence in what we’re doing. That’s important."
While Dunn’s point-after attempt was blocked, the Cardinals still held a 13-6 lead.
Victor then turned in another contribution, but this time it wasn’t a tackle-breaking 15-yard carry. It was a jarring tackle of his own that left the South Hunterdon back laying 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage and brought cheers from the Cardinal bench.
"He really sets the tone for us on defense," Radice said. "He likes to hit, but on top of that, he’s a coachable, unselfish kid that likes to do whatever is best for the team. I look for him to have a very big year for us."
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the elation over Victor’s hit was short-lived as Kevin O’Shea ran 50 yards down the South Hunterdon sideline for the touchdown. With the Lawrence lead down to two points, South Hunterdon attempted a two-point conversion, but quarterback Kevin Losch’s pass bounced off the grass in the end zone, leaving the score 13-11.
The game appeared to be slipping away from the Cardinals as they clung to their two-point lead and faced a third-and-25 from their own 15-yard line. But backup quarterback Shawn Gliem found split end Isaac Johnson along the Cardinal sideline. Johnson did the rest, turning on his speed and beating the South Hunterdon defenders to the end zone.
"Isaac (Johnson) has great speed," Radice said. "You have to respect him or he’ll beat you."
The Cardinals added a two-point conversion to put the game out of reach. Both teams then let their respective junior varsity squads see time.
Radice was pleased with the effort he saw from his junior varsity squad, which found the end zone once during the controlled scrimmage.
"I thought they were very impressive," he said. "They played with a lot of hunger and had a lot of fun out there. That’s grass roots football."
For photographs and more information on the Cardinals’ victory Saturday and a preview of the Lawrence opener against West Windsor-Plainsboro North, see the Sept. 7 edition of the Lawrence Ledger.