What a show!
The Camden Fairview Cardinals (1-0,0-0) defeated the Arkadelphia Badgers (0-1,0-0) Friday night in Clark County.
The two athletic teams did not disappoint as the action got underway quickly. After the Cardinals' kickoff was returned to their opponents' 34 yard line, Badger quarterback Cade McBride found a wide open receiver for a 66-yard touchdown. Their ensuing PAT was good but the Cardinals appeared poised and onlookers would found out why in due time.
The Badger kicked the ball deep to the Cardinals 10-yard line and Matt Davis would race down the middle of the coverage for a 90 score. The PAT was blocked but the score was 7-6 in favor of Arkadelphia before 30 seconds of game time was off of the clock.
Arkadelphia's offense clicked early as their quarterback operated the RPO game like a veteran. The Badgers would score on a short run with 9:27 left in the opening segment and add the PAT.
We would finally get to see the Cardinals offense under first-year starting quarterback Darr'ell "Juney" Atkins Jr. and he would prove he was ready for varsity action along with sophomore running back Jaden Porchia. The Cardinals were able to ambulate the ball down the field before facing a fourth and four from the Badgers' 6 yard line. That's when Atkins would lead the ball across the middle into the sure hands of Jalen Goodwin for a touchdown. On the two point try, Atkins would roll out to his right before firing the ball back to the left to find Trent Haygood in the endzone to tie the game with four minutes left in the first quarter to cap a 14-play, 80 yard drive.
Arkadelphia would add another touchdown on a 13 yard run and nail the PAT to take a 21-14 lead into the second quarter.
The action would finally slow down as both teams would exchange turnovers as CF was intercepted deep in their territory and Trey Weaver was able to reel in a Badger interception and return it to the Badger 40. After a 13-yard pass from Atkins to Haygood, Atkins would hit Haygood and he would reverse field to score from 27 yards out. The Cardinals attempted to run on the two point try and while the ball ended up in the endzone, officials ruled that forward progress had already stopped leaving the Cardinals trailing by one at the half.
Early in the second half, the Badgers would lose their quarterback after he was ejected from the game. The Cardinals would eat up the clock and take their first lead when they brought in Jabauree Lockhart to score on a two yard run. Lockhart would also add the two point conversion. The Cardinal defense began to make pressure and get some hits on the back up quarterback and Jordan McCoy would force a fumble for the Cardinals to recover. The offensive line for the Cardinals asserted their will throughout the remainder of the game as Lockhart would score two more times before the final tally. The Badgers's only points would come from a late return on a questionable fumble.