Triad quarterback Jordan Simonelli looks to read the defense before deciding to hand the ball off to tailback Jacob Jenkins or to keep it in the Cardinals’Friday night game against Northeastern. Jenkins finished the game with 42 yards on nine carries. Simonelli had 43 yards on nine carries. The Cardinals dropped their Homecoming game, 33-21.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Mac Cordell)
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Triad Head Football Coach Joe Cardinal knows the problem. He is just struggling to fix it.
“We have got to start better,” Cardinal said Friday night following his squads 33-21 loss to Northeastern. “We end great. We fight hard. We have to start better.”
The home team found itself down a touchdown Friday before the homecoming queen was done hugging her friends. The Cardinals were down two scores not long after that.
“A lot of times, the game is won in the first 12 minutes,” Cardinal said. “We have to do better. We have to start better, offensively and defensively.”
He said his team has failed to launch all season.
“That is something we have struggled with all year,” Cardinal said. “That sets the tone for the whole game.”
It certainly did Friday.
The Cardinals elected to receive the game’s opening kickoff, but were forced to punt just 36 seconds into the game, giving the Jets possession inside Triad territory. Dylon Hand had a reception and three rushes on the first drive, including the final carry, a one-yard blast into the end zone. While the kick failed, Northeastern had a 6-0 advantage with 9:18 remaining in the first quarter.
The Jets tallied their second touchdown with 6:24 remaining in the opening period. Following a Triad punt, Northeastern took over at its own 49-yard line. Freshman defensive back J.C. Alexander nearly snatched Jet Quarterback Mac Davis’s first pass, but couldn’t get his hands around it. The mistake would be costly. The next play, Davis sprinted 31 yards around left end. He would cap the drive with a 23 yard scoring strike to Jacob Yarnell. Davis spotted Yarnell crossing the middle of the field at the five-yard line. Yarnell went high to grab the pass, lowered his shoulders and slid into the end zone. Cody Wal added the extra point to give the visitors a 13-0 lead.
As Cardinal mentioned it would, his team stiffened up, holding the Jets out of the end zone the remainder of the half.
The Cardinal offense started to make some noise in the second quarter. Triad used a six-play drive to move inside the opponent 10-yard line early in the second stanza. Quarterback Jordan Simonelli completed three passes and had a 15-yard scramble. On first and goal, Simonelli hit receiver Isaiah Bruce on a quick stop route at the five-yard line. As Bruce lunged into the end zone over a defender, the ball slipped from his grasp. The would-be tackler rolled on top of the now bouncing ball, ending the Cardinal threat and sending the teams to the lockers with Northeastern on top 13-0.
Triad started the second half much like the first. Northeastern scored on the first play of the quarter. The Jets took the kickoff and returned it into Cardinal country. A personal foul gave Northeastern the ball at the Triad 38. On the first play, tailback Max Queen slashed this way and that through the defense and into the end zone. The PAT gave the Jets a 20-0 lead 18 seconds into the half.
Triad broke into the scoring column on the ensuing possession. The home team marched 65 yards in eight plays, the last a 12 yard pass from Simonelli to Bruce. Like the earlier scoring threat, Bruce caught the ball on the five, this time he was able to hold on as he crossed the goal line.
The PAT failed but the Cardinals were on the board, trailing 20-6.
The Jets decided to go to power football with two tight ends, two backs and a pulling guard. They were able to march down the field until one of those guards slammed into one of those backs jarring the ball lose inside the red zone. Triad recovered the ball but couldn’t move it on the resulting possession. Following an interception, the Clark County visitors again pushed deep into the Cardinal end. On fourth and goal from the one, Davis bobbled the snap giving the Cardinal possession, though their backs were to the wall.
Triad was forced to punt from the back of its own end zone and the Jets took over at the Cardinal 24. Hand had his second touchdown of the contest two plays later, plowing through a seam and into the end zone Wal’s extra point gave the jets a 27-6 lead as the third quarter came to a close.
The boys in black battled back as the final quarter dawned. The Cardinal used a mix of runs and passes, five of each, to move the ball. Tailback Andy Martin found the end zone on a counter left play from the 14 yard line. The play caught the visiting defense napping and Martin was able to beat his pursuers to the front corner of the end zone. Simonelli connected with Bruce in the front, center of the end zone for the two-point conversion. With 10:33 to play in the game, Northeastern held a 27-14 lead.
Northeastern intercepted passes on the next two Cardinal possessions. The first interception, in the end zone, ended a long drive. The second was returned to the Triad two-yard line and ended up in a Jet touchdown two plays later.
Martin was at full speed when he grabbed the ensuing kick at his 18 as it bounced toward the sideline. Martin sped through traffic until he was sprinting alone down the visitors’ sideline and into their end zone. Simonelli’s kick cut the Northeastern lead to 33-20.
“He has been big for us,” Cardinal said of Martin, who finished the game with five rushes for 45 yards, four receptions, nine tackles on defense and the kick return.
The Cardinals recovered an onside kick but when Davis snared a lofted offering from Simonelli in the end zone with just 1:01 to play, the threat, the scoring and the game was over.
Triad falls to 1-5 on the season and 1-3 in the Ohio Heritage Conference. The Cardinal will travel to West Liberty Salem next week to take on the 5-1 Tigers in conference play.
Cardinal says the key to coming out ready to play, lies not on Friday night but during the week.
“We have to practice like we are ready to play,” Cardinal said. “It is going in prepared. We have prepare to start the game. We have to be mentally prepared Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.”