Cardinals throttle NEO, 29-10, to start season
MIAMI, Okla. -- Well they started slowly, but the TVCC Cardinals opened up their spring season Saturday afternoon with a conference win over NEO, 29-10.
"We spotted them 10 points, but it showed a lot about our team how they just stayed together," said Head Coach Sherard Poteete.
The Norsemen took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to TVCC special teams mistakes, the biggest coming on the opening kickoff when Rylan McQuarters raced 100 yards for what turned out to be NEO's only touchdown.
The Norsemen added a 37-yard field goal after getting set up on the TVCC 26 via a fumbled punt return.
But the rest of the day belonged to the Cardinals, particularly their swarming defense.
"The defense did a great job today," Poteete said. "They made stop, after stop, after stop."
The Cardinal defense did not allow an NEO touchdown, had three sacks, and generated relentless pressure for four quarters.
In the meantime, TVCC's starting quarterback Matt Morrissey was showing he could do it all. Morrissey threw for two touchdowns, ran for another, had a 40-yard punt that was downed at the NEO 2, AND caught a touchdown pass that was called back because of a penalty.
"He's a competitor," Poteete said of Morrissey. "He's the guy who's always out on the field working extra with whoever is out there."
TVCC's first score of the season came on a 26-yard TD strike from Morrissey to Jordan Davis late in the first quarter. Morrissey's pass split the defenders down the seam and Davis pulled it in as he crossed the goal line.
Morrissey threaded another needle on throw to Christian Kaopua down the left sideline later in the first half. Kaopua bounced off defenders and raced to the end zone for a 30-yard score.
Special teams momentum also swung the Cardinal's direction, with TVCC scoring points off three NEO miscues.
First, a bad snap and pressure from the Cardinals disrupted an NEO punt. The punter tried to run for a first down, but was tackled a yard short. That sequence led to one of Christopher Esqueda-Almanza's two 32-yard field goals.
Then in the second half, Cordrick Dunn blocked a punt that LaDarion Henson recovered on the NEO 9. On the next play, Morrissey scampered around the right side into the end zone.
On their very next series, an NEO punt snap went sailing out of the end zone for a safety.
The Cardinals will be on the road again Friday, April 2, against the Tyler Junior College Apaches. TJC lost to Navarro, 50-53, to open the season.
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