The No. 7 Cardinals will be home for the playoffs – in a good way!
Thanks to a 40-21 win Saturday afternoon at Bruce Field against defending NJCAA champion and No. 5 New Mexico Military Institute, the Cardinals assured themselves the SWJCFC championship and No. 1 seed a homefield advantage in the upcoming regional playoffs.
The Cardinals, winners of seven straight to improve to 7-1, are 6-0 in the SWJCFC and hold a two-game lead on both NMMI and Navarro.
After spotting NMMI a 7-0 lead, the Cardinals reeled of 34 straight points. They led 27-7 at the half.
The Cardinal offense took command of the game from the start. Running back Quincy Thompson, behind a dominating line, ran for 205 yards on 29 carries. The Cardinals had 331 yards on the ground.
Quarterback Darion Peace completed 14-of-30 passes for 148 yards and two scores.
Jake Gaster booted field goals of 19, 38, 25 and 25 yards.
Channing Canada returned a kickoff 97 yards to start the second half and give the Cardinals a 34-7 lead.
The Cardinals defense produced five turnovers: a fumble recovery by Ravonte Blowe and interceptions by Isaiah Crosby, Alan Caracheo, Zayteak McGhee, and Donajz Dunn. The Cardinals also forced nine NMMI punts.
Daniel Williams led the Cardinals with 11 tackles. Joe Sniffin and Corey Kelley had nine each.
The conference championship is the Cardinals' 23rd overall – 1952, 1953, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022. The Cardinal also won a title 2014 vacated by NJCAA sanctions.
