Local Sports Journal

The Orchard View Cardinals overcame some early mistakes and routed Tri-County 55-13 on Thursday night.

Coach Joe Tanis earned his first victory as a head coach after watching his Cardinals turn a 13-6 first-half deficit into a lopsided victory.

“The magic at halftime was the kids just decided to play,” Tanis said. “We came out and our center snapped the ball over the quarterback’s head twice.”

OV scored the first six points, but the Vikings scored the next 13. By halftime, OV tied the game at 13-all.

The second half was all OV as the Cardinals scored 42 points.

Corey Pierce rushed for one touchdown and added a pair of touchdown receptions. Justin Hunter-Smith, who sat out the first quarter, scored on a 66-yard touchdown run. Mason Herzhaft also had a big game rushing for the Cardinals despite getting hurt in the opening quarter.

“We really came together and bonded,” Tanis said. “We came out and we played hard and we hit hard. Something we didn’t do last week.”

The Cardinals featured a solid running and passing attack. Tanis lauded offensive coordinator Larry Porter for his efforts in getting the offense ready.

“We switched up our offense a little bit this week,” Tanis said. “We have a lot of people who can play a lot of positions. We spread the field and used our speed.”