Cards Respond to First Loss With Accelerated Practice

After winning their first three games to start the season, the CUA football team was handed their first loss of the season Saturday at Randolph Macon. Although the Cardinals went into halftime with a 14-9 lead, the yellow-jackets fought back to secure a 32-20 victory. With the loss the Cardinals drop to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).

For CUA, the game was truly a story of two halves. The Cardinals got on the board first with a two yard run from Wide Receiver Miles Sabrick, who finished the game with 70 yards receiving. After a Randolph Macon touchdown and field goal put the yellow-jackets up 10-7, the Cards retook control of the game when Senior Greg Brown scored with only seventeen seconds left in the half.

 

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.

CUA Lineman Brings Home Football’s First Season Win

The Cardinals kicked off the season in dramatic fashion against Shenandoah University with some unlikely heroes that stepped up when it mattered most. A fake field goal in its first overtime possession gave the Cards (1-0) an edge over Shenandoah (0-1) last Saturday.

The offense wasted no time in the first half showing its dominance to the opposing team along with a strong defensive presence. Senior quarterback Keith Ricca connected with fellow classmate Andrew Buis for CUA’s first points on the night from an 18 yard pass. Fellow senior Ryan McManus also scored for the Cardinals on another pass from Ricca, and with a field goal by junior Brendan Deluca, the team found themselves ahead 17-3 by the 11:06 mark of the second quarter.

However, their opponents refused to give away the game and controlled the clock in the 3rd quarter for over twelve minutes. Shenandoah exploded back to tie the game at 17-17 with 36 seconds remaining in the third. Late in the game, Shenandoah attempted a 54-yarder which fell short, forcing the teams into overtime.

The Cards won the OT coin toss, but Shenandoah scored a 36-yard field goal in the first OT possession, giving them their first lead of the night. The Cardinals got the ball, and were quickly faced with converting a 4th and 12 on the Shenandoah 27 to have any chance at a victory.

CUA faked the field goal attempt, and the sophomore third string quarterback Dan Jones hit one of the biggest targets he could have had in senior Defensive lineman Sean Green. Green made his way into the endzone untouched for the game-winning score.

Green has yet to comment on his heroic catch.

Keith Ricca led Catholic’s offense with 203 yards passing on 18 completions in 37 attempts, two touchdowns and three interceptions and senior Greg Brown had five receptions for 75 yards. The Cardinals will return to the field for their home-opener tomorrow afternoon against Franklin and Marshall at 1 p.m. So please come out and support your Cards as they look to continue what looks to be a very promising season.

Cardinals Offense Preps for Tough Season

Preseason training saw the Card’s striving to sharpen a rushing offense which faltered last year, as well as getting the feet under returning senior quarterback.

Last season the Cardinals under Head Coach Dave Dunn finished their season 5-5 with a 1-5 conference record, the most wins a Catholic team has had since 2000 when the team went 6-4. Four of last year’s losses came within 10 points or less. In talking to Coach Dunn, he cited experience as the biggest difference between this year and last year’s team. “We have all our guys on the same page,” he says. It seems that is the case, especially when 16 starters return from last year’s team.

The offense will be lead by senior quarterback Keith Ricca. The Cardinal’s aerial attack was third best in the ODAC last year with 3101 yards and 26 touchdowns. The run defense also gained distinction for limiting opponents to 3.3 yards per carry, making it the third best in 2007. In addition, the Cardinals return the most dynamic punt-returner in the conference, Nick Olivero. The talented senior defensive back and team captain doubles as a return specialist, returning 39 punts for 285 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the conference with 6 interceptions last year.

After talking with Ricca, it was clear that a perfect season was on his mind. “In the last couple years our offense has put up great stats throwing the ball, but we haven’t won many games”, admits Ricca. “I’d rather win 10 games and have less personal stats than throw for a ton of yards and touchdowns and have a losing season. With the talent we have at the wide receiver and running back positions, the stats will come as long as we just execute our offense. This is the strongest senior class we’ve had in years”.

Ricca has been working hard this summer on his footwork and getting a greater understanding of Coach Dunn’s high-octane offense. After asking him about the Cardinal’s preseason ranking as #6 in the conference, Ricca says he would have it no other way. “We are gonna surprise some people this year,” says Ricca.

The confident quarterback has a number of targets that may turn out to have big seasons this year. None are more experienced than wideouts Andrew Buis, Miles Sabrick, Peter Mercatanti, and tight end Ryan Mcmanus. When asked about how many weapons the offense had, Buis was quick to acknowledge his offensive line. “As far as I’m concerned there are 11 weapons on this offense,” says Buis. Buis also says he expects a number of underclassmen to contribute early. “Freshman Alonzo Cooke has been very good working out of the slot receiver position, and sophomore Rich Brennan is going to be key for our o-line,” says Buis.

In any case, the Cardinals will have to improve on last year’s abysmal 511 total rushing yards on the ground if they are to make a deep postseason run. Several Cardinals may see time running the ball. The leading candidate is senior tailback Greg Brown. Ricca calls Brown “the most athletic player on this team”. Several other players may spell Brown who was redshirted last year. They include senior Stevie Hendley and sophomore Rich Barry.

The talent is obviously there; it is just time for the Cardinals to put it all together.