Cardinals Remain Undefeated

WAITSBURG - In week three of the regular season, the undefeated Cardinals came alive again and erupted for 40 points against an out­manned but disciplined Elgin team. WP beat the Huskies 40-10 despite a spate of Car­dinals penalties and eight fumbles recovered by the home team.

"We will not be so lucky in the future," head coach Jeff Bartlow said. "We need to take care of this." Apart from the nerve-wracking would-be turn­overs, the Cardinals' victory Friday had a lot more to do with improving skills and confidence than luck. The team is now 3-0. A beautiful September night under the lights in Waitsburg was accompanied by a big home crowd that could leave their coats at home. Spectators were treat­ed to breakout performances from Kris Cady, who rushed 10 times for 133 yards and had three touchdowns. He would have been closer to the 200-yard mark had his 63-yard run not been called back because of a holding penalty. T.J. Hofer, whom Bartlow said had his best day yet as a Cardinal, had five catches for 109 yards and two touch­downs. Joe Purdin had two big catches for 43 yards that kept the Cardinals' drives alive. Purdin also caught an impressive interception late in the second quarter to avert an Elgin threat in Cardinal territory.

Quarterback Zach Bart­low passed for 202 yards, completing 11 of 19 pass at­tempts, and he had a 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. "After looking at the film, I really felt there were a lot of good things we did," Bartlow said. "We forced them to do some things they are not comfortable doing, and they played a bit right into our hands."

What the Huskies strug­gled with in trying to stop the Cards they made up for with displays of sportsmanship that can only be described as "classy."

Midway through the third quarter, Dalton Estes tried to chase a deep throw from Bartlow into the corner of the end zone. As he left the field of play, he tripped over the cement curb and landed hard in the cinder track. An Elgin defender already heading back to his huddle saw what happened and made a beeline back to check on Dalton and help him back on his feet. The pattern of ca­maraderie continued through the night with the Huskies even taking a respectful knee during a WP injury. After the injured Cardinal was helped off the field, the Elgin team stood and clapped in unison. Bartlow said this has been the worst year for penalties, racking up 105 yards' worth. "That is the third game in a row we have had trouble with penalties," he said. "This is our number one concern. It is just one of those things that has to be fixed."

For the third game, solid fundamental defense again held the opponents scoreless until late in the game when more J.V. players were put on the field. The W-P Varsity starters have yet to give up a touchdown.

On defense, Bartlow sin­gled out Eshom Estes, Dalton Estes, Tre Brannock and Justin Armstrong for their performances. Bartlow said he also moved David Brock to tackle and Greg Sterns to guard, concluding it was a "positive" move. The WP defense held Elgin to a mere 2 yards passing.

WP vs Elgin

40 - 10

Rushing

Zach Bartlow, 41

Kris Cady, 133

David Brock, 18

Justin Armstrong, 4

Dalton LaRue, 9

Passing

Zach Bartlow 11/19/0, 202 yards

Estes 1/1/0, 0 yards

Receiving

Joe Purdin, 2 - 43

Kris Cady, 1-33-1

Justin Armstrong, 1-1

T.J. Hofer, 5-109-2

Guillermo Hernandez, 2-13