Cardinals clinch first winning season in 15 years

For the first time in 15 years, Cardinal Stritch football has secured a winning record.

Heading into the final regular season game at Northwood last Friday, the Cardinals were 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference.

Because of a diluted league schedule thanks to Covid protocols, Stritch coach Gene Rucker says the league title “is a hot topic right now” and nothing was for sure heading into the final week of the regular season.

According to coaches, Stritch, Ottawa Hills (6-3, 3-1) and Northwood (3-4, 2-1), still had a chance of sharing the TAAC title, depending on which team won the Big Apple Deli trophy game in week 10.

Plus, Ottawa Hills (6-3, 3-1) had to defeat Edon (8-1, 3-0) Friday to make that co-title happen. A win by the Bombers means they are the outright champion, say Rucker and Northwood coach Ken James.

It did not have to be this way. The Cardinals had a shot at defeating Edon, but fell 43-28 at Clay Memorial Stadium. A win against the Bombers and Stritch could be talking about an outright championship now.

“If you would have told us before, that we would go into the half against that team and get the lead and get the ball back to start the second half, even though it was just one point and there were multiple scores, I would have said no way,” Rucker said. 

“We kind of stumbled in the second half, got to a point where it was 35-28 and we felt we could stop them on fourth down and they converted it. It was a heartbreaker.”

The reason the Green Bears can only hope for a co-championship is because Stritch defeated them 28-14. 

“That’s a nice rivalry. It was nice to finally get one against them as well,” Rucker said.

Rucker says his team is pleased to clinch a winning record and he’ll take what he can get from here on out, which includes a strong possibility of a spot in the Division VI playoffs.

“We set the program, which is year two for the staff here, so we are excited about that and excited for what is to come,” Rucker said.

If the Cardinals were able to defeat the Rangers Friday, it would be a feat never accomplished during some of Rucker’s players’ lifetime.

“We were just focused on getting this rivalry win,” Rucker said. “There are kids in the locker room right now that were not born yet the last time Stritch beat Northwood, so that’s important to us to get the Big Apple Deli Trophy back here and then go from there.”

The Cardinals are led by 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior quarterback Thomas Foust, who has completed 69 of 117 passes (59 percent) for 1,130 yards and 12 touchdowns.

“As a quarterback, he hasn’t thrown a pick yet, so knock on wood, so he’s been protecting the football and doing good things,” Rucker said.

Jaden Moss, a 5-10, 170-pound senior wide receiver, has 28 catches for 481 yards and three TDs, plus he returned a punt for a score. Clarence Brown, a 5-11, 175-pound senior wide receiver has 29 catches for 402 yards and five TDs. Brown credits Foust’s vision for their ability to hook up

“Thomas Foust — he has his eyes on the field and he is always a great leader,” Brown said.

In addition, Foust has run for 820 yards on 89 carries, scoring 13 TDs. Of the 26 touchdowns he is responsible for, it includes returning a fumble recovery for six points in the 32-30 win over Edgerton, and he also had an interception from his DB position in that game. 

Idro Price, a 5-7, 160-pound junior running back, has 79 rushes for 410 yards and three TDs. Rucker says Price “continues to run hard,” however, the yardage doesn’t come by itself — the blocking has to be there, too.

“I like our line a lot — they put on a show, put on a block and without them we can’t do anything — we could not move the ball so that helps a lot,” Brown said.

Don’t count out Stritch’s defense, either. They were big in the Cardinals’ 42-20 win over Fremont St. Joseph, the 48-33 win over South Central, and 49-0 shutout against Hilltop. 

Six-foot-2, 205-pound senior linebacker Gage Power has 88 tackles, eight tackles for a loss, one sack and an interception. Kam Hughes, a 6-4, 185-pound junior defensive end, has 38 tackles, 19 for a loss and 13 sacks and Price, from his defensive back position, has 60 tackles, three for a loss and five interceptions, including one returned for a TD.

Price was a big reason for the shutout victory over Hilltop.

“Idro Price had two picks last week, including a pick six, and again he was a double digit sack guy for us in his first year out, so he’s been all-around,” Rucker said. 

“We have Gage Power in the middle who is a consistent tackler and racking them up every week,” Rucker continued.

“We’ve seen some guys step up and continue to develop. Kam Hughes  is a first-year player out here and he has double digit sacks. He’s a basketball kid who came out and wanted to play. Defensively we’ve been flying around and making good plays.”

Brown says this program has come a long way this year, not only from last year, but from where the team was at when he and his teammates showed up for two-a-days in early August.

“We were kind of sluggish when we first started out at the beginning of practice because we were out of shape. We started picking up the energy, we were coming to practice ready to work and getting in shape and stuff,” Brown said.

“We are more focused as a team. The bond is better than it was last year, so I feel that helps a lot. So, we come out to practice, we are ready to go to work, so I feel good going into each game.”

Since the top 16 in each region are playoff bound for the first time this year, Stritch’s chances of playing in week 11 are good. After nine weeks, the Cardinals were ranked 10th in their region and could have gotten a first round home game (top eight) if they beat Northwood.

“Where this program has been, we’ll be grateful just to be in,” Rucker said. “Obviously, you want the better seed because the better our match-up is as well, so that is important.”