Cards Respond to First Loss With Accelerated Practice

This momentum however, did not carry over into the second half. Senior Safety Nick Olivero, who ended the afternoon with ten tackles and an interception, noted “I don’t think we matched the intensity that Randolph Macon had in the second half.” The yellow-jackets went on to score twenty-three unanswered points. Quarterback Keith Ricca, who finished with 230 yards passing, hooked up with Senior Wide Receiver Andrew Buis for a thirteen yard touchdown pass late in fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.

When asked about the differece between the Randolph Macon game and first three wins, Senior Tight End Ryan McManus said, “We just didn’t execute our offense and we blew too many chances”.

Head Coach Dave Dunn added, “We just made too many mistakes and were too inconsistent in the second half to win the game”.

The Cardinals look to rebound next Saturday when they host Maritime College on Saturday at 12 pm. The Maritime Privateers are 2-2 on the season and are fresh off a 34-20 victory over Norwich University. With both teams losing to Randolph Macon by similar margins this season, look for the outcome of this game to be decided in the fourth quarter.

In order to get a victory against Maritime it will be important for the Cardinals defense to stop the run. In their last game Maritime tallied an impressive 323 yards on the ground, as well as an uninspiring 6 net passing yards. One way to stop the opposing offense is to keep your defense off the field. The key to this strategy is converting on third down, something Coach Dave Dunn has said they have to improve.

In regards to the preparation for this weekend’s showdown against Maritime, Senior Nick Olivero said, “Mentally, we need to get in and watch film on Maritime so that we are fully prepared for anything they throw at us. Physically, we need to be more intense and play at a higher pace in practice. If we do those things we shouldn’t have any problem bouncing back.”

Although the Cardinals are not looking past Maritime, the following week they will begin a set of five straight conference games, the first of which will be at home against Washington and Lee. Last year, Washington and Lee finished 4-2 in conference play, which was good enough for third place in ODAC.

Washington and Lee opened their season with a 24-0 loss to Franklin and Marshall, a team Catholic defeated 14-7 earlier this season at Cardinal Stadium. Since then, Washington and Lee have won three straight games, improving their record to 3-1. As will be important against Maritime, the Cardinals must stop the run if they want to be successful against a Washington and Lee offense that prefers to keep the ball on the ground.