Cardinals shock Nordhoff with some surprises for a 28-20 win

October 31, 2001
Sports
Page 2 

The undefeated Nordhoff Rangers hosted the Santa Paula Cardinals Friday and the Cards threw in some surprise plays that seemed to confuse the Rangers.

The undefeated Nordhoff Rangers hosted the Santa Paula Cardinals Friday and the Cards threw in some surprise plays that seemed to confuse the Rangers.Santa Paula celebrated a 28-20 victory as the Cardinal fans mobbed the field after the game. Head Coach Ed Gomez credits his coaching staff for coming up with a great game plan and preparing the players to execute that plan. “The players did a phenomenal job,” Gomez said. “We told them all week that in order to be champions they would have to believe in themselves when no one else would. They believed and achieved!” Gomez said it was a total team effort. “It started with our scout team all week in practice, and on Friday night our offense, defense and special teams were prepared. David Maldanado did a great job of running the offense, his receivers (Wadkowski, Peterson and Maldanado) made some great catches and the line provided great pass protection. It was what team sports is all about.”The Cards were aware of Ranger’s running back Nick Kaiser and his reputation for gaining yards and scoring. Led by defensive end Victor Barrios, Santa Paula did manage to slow Kaiser down. Even so, Kaiser still managed three touchdowns and rushed for over 170 yards.Cardinal quarterback David Maldonado had a great night, hitting 18 of 28 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Brent Peterson also had a very good night, with four catches for 115 yards and one TD.The Rangers drew first blood after recovering a fumble from the Cards early in the first quarter. Nordhoff took the ball to the Cardinal 8-yard-line and made the TD and the extra point.Penalties, incomplete passes and fumbles plagued both teams for the remainder of the quarter.Santa Paula came on strong as the second quarter started. Peterson took the ball to the Nordhoff 40-yard line. An incomplete pass was followed by a Ranger penalty and then David Carrillo pushed to the Ranger’s 21. The Maldonado brothers moved the ball even closer and Carrillo scored the first Santa Paula TD and John Wadkowski kicked the extra point, tying the game.Nordhoff came right back with seven points of their own, but Santa Paula was not about to go to halftime without scoring again.
The Cardinals had possession of the ball for 17 plays, before Rene Maldonado carried the ball into the end zone. The extra point was good and the score was tied 14-14 at the half.The third quarter was marked with penalties and neither team made much headway until the Cardinals recovered a fumble near the end of the quarter. The quarter ended with Carrillo taking the ball to the Card’s 35-yard-line. As the final quarter began, Peterson ran for the touchdown and Wadkowski kicked the extra point, putting Santa Paula ahead.On their next possession Nordhoff once again fumbled the ball and Santa Paula recovered. Within a few plays the Cards were on the Ranger’s 7-yard-line. Carrillo moved the ball closer and Wadkowski took it over theline for another TD. With the extra point the Cardinals were leading 28-14.The Rangers kept the ball for 18 plays before scoring their final touchdown. Their was less than two minutes on the clock, but Santa Paula couldn’t get the ball back in sight of Nordhoff’s goal line before the clock ran out.Coach Gomez said, that when he thinks of what the team did, he’s amazed. “To go into the home of the defending three-time undefeated league champions and get behind two times and then to take the lead and the game in the fourth quarter...it doesn’t get any better than that,” Gomez said. “That is what TEAM CARDINAL is all about.” He added that the support of the Cardinal fans was inspiring. “When we came back onto the field at halftime and we saw that tunnel of fans, we knew we had the entire school and community behind us. It is a memory all of us will hold onto forever.”The Cardinals meet undefeated League Champions Calabasas this Friday night in a home game at 7:00 p.m. “We must be prepared and just as focused as we were last week,” Coach Gomez notes. “We’ve put ourselves in the position we want to be in and now we must focus and finish.”



Site Search

E-Subscribe

Subscribe

E-SUBSCRIBE
Call 805 525 1890 to receive the entire paper early. $50.00 for one year.

webmaster