In this file photo, Ayden Sanford of Triad catches a kick-off during Week 2 of the season against West Liberty. Sanford scored the Cardinals’ two touchdowns last week, one on a 90-yard kick return. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
The Triad Cardinals football team will head into its final regular season game at Northeastern tonight.
The Jets have suffered as many woes as the Cards.
Northeastern is 1-4 with its latest loss coming in double overtime last week (41-40) against West Liberty.
Triad Dylan Wears says the Jets are much better than their record indicates.
“They are like us, not your typical 1-4 team,” he said. “The (Ohio Heritage Conference) North Division is very tough and we are looking at them much like ourselves.”
A true dual-threat quarterback, Cade Houseman, anchors the Jets’ offense.
He is the fifth best passer and rusher in the league.
He has gone 69-119 for 826 yards and eight touchdowns and thrown only a single pick this year.
On the ground, the elusive QB has picked up 390 yards on 77 carries with five TDs.
Wears said Houseman is a player his defense will have to locates at all times on the field.
“We can’t take him (Houseman) lightly,” he said. “Watching him on film, you can see he plays incredibly hard.”
Houseman has a trio of wide outs at his disposal.
Dylan Haggy leads the team in reception yards with 233 on 15 catches, while Gunner Leonard has 16 catches for 194 yards.
Hunter Albright has snagged 13 passes.
When the Jets are not throwing the ball, they like to hand off to Albright. He’s second on the team in rushing with 108 yards on 27 attempts.
Although Northeastern has shown it’s a team that likes to throw the ball, Wears said they will take Week 6 like they handle every other week.
“It doesn’t matter who we are facing or what they will bring to the game, we are going to try our best to come away with a win,” he said.
The Cardinals are also coming into Week 6 on the heels of 26-14 to West Jefferson.
Triad mustered only 30 offensive plays.
Ayden Sanford was Triad’s bright spot of the night, scoring both of touchdowns.
One of those came on a 90-yard kickoff return.
Even though it is the last game of the regular season, there will be a Week 7 as Triad moves into playoff play as the 17th seeded team in Division VI, Region 24 where they will take on the 16th seeded National Trail.
Wears said it is a unique experience as a 1-4 team wouldn’t traditionally make the playoffs.
“In a 10-game season, it would be very hard for us to make the playoffs,” he said. “This year, though, is a whole new ball game (due to COVID-19).”
Still, the Cardinal coach isn’t overlooking the Jets.
“We are thinking about that (the playoffs) as little as possible,” he added. “We are thinking about tonight and doing what we need to do to get a win.”