Deja Vu All Over Again

Saturday's quarter final game against DeSales will be dif­ferent for the Cardinals in two important respects: it will be an away game on the neutral territory of the Edgar Edgar Brown stadium in Pasco, and the stakes will be much higher in this loser-out hurdle on the way to the semi final. But in almost every other way, WP is preparing once again for the Irish' versatile repertoire of ground and air assaults against a defense that has had the grip of artificialturf under its cleats only once before this season.

DeSales quarterback Jere­( miah Cox will be handing the pig skin to the very prolific running back Kyle Lindgren. Lindgren is among seven Irish players to make all league this season, the same number as the Cardinals.

"They have a good quar­terback who throws well," WP head coach Jeff Bartlow said. "He's got different guys to throw to. They'll bring out different gadgets and tricks they think may work on us. But it's too late in the season to change the game a whole lot."

That means DeSales will divide its offense 50-50 between rushing and pass­ing, making the Irish more unpredictable than the Car­dinals' last two opponents, Reardan and Oroville, which were primarily focused on the running the ball, Bartlow said.

DeSales also tends to spread out its offensive line, which creates lanes for run­ners to squeeze through. "They're going to be tough," he said. "They're a great second-round op­ponent." Though undefeated at home and away, the Cardi­nals

weren't as strong on unfamiliar fields this year. From here on out, they'll have to do without their home field advantage.

"We've struggled a bit more on the road," Bartlow said.

Cardinal TJ Hofer, him­self a very productive receiv­er, tackler and pass spoiler, agrees that his team will have its work cut out this weekend.

"They'll come to play," the senior wide receiver said. "Our defense will have to step up. We'll just have to be ready for it."

Both teams have played on artificial turf once before this season. This time of year, when grass fields are wet and muddy, the players have a better grip on the sur­face,

which is required for playoff games starting with the quarter finals.

The Cardinals and their fans will have to prepare themselves for the Irish 12th man. The DeSales home crowd will show up in big numbers and, if previous years are any indication, they will make themselves heard. Bartlow hopes WP fans will not let themselves be drowned out on the sideline. "We're going to need all the help we can get," he said.