Cardinals use power running game and strong defense to shutout Wolfpack 22-0 @CSPfootball @RandolphCSD @wny_football @WNYAthletics

Tagged under: Beyond The Keystone, Game Photos, Gameday Hub

David Burnworth | September 26, 2021

Saturday afternoon I was in Panama, New York to take in the battle of the unbeaten. Randolph at C.S.P. I have watched C.S.P.mutiple times since adding New York to my hit list of places to take in games, I have watched Randolph just once. After reading an article in the local paper, while I had breakfast in Panama I was looking very forward to see just how good Xander Hind was. Hind enter this game with 750 yards this season in just three games. After all, was said and done Hind would need just 72-yards in his next game to hit 1,000 for the season.

Just 0:17 seconds into this one the Randolph defense showed just what a hard afternoon the CSP offense was in for when Maverick Adams sacked Kurtis Olson for a big 10-yard loss. Line play would be one major difference in this one a subject Coach Harper and I touched on after the game. Owen Nelson just missed getting a pick for the Cardinals defense when he had a ball thrown by Olson hit him in the chest but hit the grass before he could get a grip on it. Trent Burchanowski would earn an 11-yard gain, with some hard running to give the Wolfpack a little momentum. The Randolph defense missed an easy pick at the 6:56 mark of the opening quarter when the pass was thrown in the hands of Sterling Skye but the defensive end could not secure the ball.

With 6:23 left in the quarter, Xander Hind gave us a glimpse of the kind of day he was going to have when he used some nice work from his linemen to pick up 10-yards to move the chains on a third-down play. A short time later Hind showed a lot of power on a nice 15-yard run. The Wolfpack defense would drop Hind for a yard loss on fourth and eleven to force a turnover on downs.

Cooper Brown, who would have a nice game with 7 receptions for 67 yards but at the 3:03 mark of the opening quarter he let one get away as he dropped a well-thrown pass that would have gone for a very long game had he brought it in. The Wolfpack would have the last big play of the quarter when Olson used connected with Lucas Lisciandro (3 receptions for 28 yards) for a pick-up of 10-yards.

The promising-looking drive ended for the Wolf[ack just 0:55 seconds into the 2nd quarter in a large part because of Huntington getting a sack on Olson for a 10-yard loss. The Randolph defensive line on this day seemed faster and stronger than the CSP offensive line and this problem would only mount for the offense of the Wolfpack.

Hind would pick up 30-yards with a little under 10:00 left in the half and if not for a nice play from Freshman Bryce Hinsdale the play would have gone for a touchdown. Hind would pick up another 15-yards on yet another powerful run and then he closed out the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Carson Conley converted the two-point run making this an 8-0 game, with 2:15 left in the half.

The dominating Cardinals defense made the last big play of the half with Huntington picking off Olson. On this day Huntington looked like the best all-around player on the field. Coach Harper said after the game that he is a nice player.

Skyler Buerk would get the Wolfpack going early in the 2nd half when he stopped Luke Pagett before yielding any yards. Hind would show that he too can play defense at a high level when he sacked Olson for a loss of ten. Hind hits as hard on defense as he does when running the ball. If I were to give him a nickname he would be called the Randolph Nightmare. CSP would recover from the sack when Olson threw a pass that Micah Willink, who was sitting on the ground made the catch of the day for a pick up of a little over 30-yards. Olson later found Brown for 25-yards but the drive ended when Huntington picked off Olson.

On the ensuing drive, Hind powered his way to a 20-yard gain. Huntington, who has all five of the Cardinals receptions on the year made a leaping catch for a 22-yard pick-up. Pagett picked up 12-yards and then he closed the drive out walking into the end zone from a yard out. Conley again converted the two-point conversion making this a 16-0 game, with 10.9 seconds remaining in the third frame.

The fourth quarter would see Adams and Pagett picking up sacks on Olson, from the Cardinals offense Hind capped off an 11 play, 47-yard drive with a one-yard walk to paydirt to make the final score 22-0 Randolph.

After the game as he always does, Coach Harper spend 10 minutes or so talking to PAFOOTBALLNEWS after the game and as he always is he was honest about the loss and the things his team needs to improve on and get fixed. Without going into any details let’s just say he is as old school as I am old and the players are my guess in for some very tough love this week at practice.

UNOFFICIAL STATS

Randolph

62 Plays

306 Yards

Passing 1-3

CSP

64 Plays

195 yards (65 in the first half)

Passing 20-40 1 INT

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