Somewhere in this sports report there is a score

The cub reporter headed out on assignment Friday night to cover the excitment of Cardinal football. The editor would like you to know that if you finish reading his story you will eventually learn that the Cardinals lost the game to Sartell, 22-21. But read the story anyway for the drama and suspense. And then you can vote (in the right margin) on giving the cub reporter a new title and a raise. One day left and he's behind, 5-4. He needs some help.

By Tom Obert
Cub Reporter
Of course, any story from Minnesota must begin with a discussion of the weather. Two weeks ago, Dave Rogosheske (Robo) and I (among others) attended the Cardinal football opener in shorts and t-shirts - it was 85 degrees with matching humidity. Last night there were frost warnings so we dressed in full winter attire (it did turn out to be a beautiful evening - the 30 mph winds we had been experiencing all week finally abated at kickoff!).

But, back to the game. The evening began under a dark cloud when the cub reporter-mobile (now 9-years old) refused to start - both the ignition and the steering wheel were totally locked up. We moved all our game paraphernalia into Ruthie's pick-up and belatedly headed to our downtown "tailgating" location. But half way to town I realized the game tickets were still back in my car - a quick U-turn to retrieve them made us about 15 minutes late to our pre-game festivities with Robo.

But, back to the game. The Cards came out firing on all cylinders - half way through the 2nd quarter they had a 21 - 6 lead on the Sartell Sabres (a further bad omen at this point - the Card cheerleaders held up a big "Beat the Sabers" [sic] sign), including a 75-yard TD run by quarterback Dillon Kelly.

It was at that point, however, that the Sabres figured out the Cards don't have a passing game. They put 9 men "in the box" from then on and held the Cards to 3 first downs the rest of the game. Sartell has a big, strong-armed quarterback and many large receivers - that combination dominated the rest of the game. Though the Cards stuffed the Sabres ground game throughout, Sartell came back for a 22 - 21 victory on the strength of their passing attack. Both teams now have 2 - 1 records (Sartell lost to conference favorite, St. Cloud Tech), but Sartell clearly was the better team and deserved to win. We tip our hats to them.

We still expect the Cards to have another fine season (and only two more months to girls hockey!).

Editor's note: The cub has discovered it is tough to take football photos without a telephoto lens, good anticipation and a steady hand. Flashing his blog credentials and positioning himself on the sidelines might help as well, but management has deemed that strategy too risky for an employee with 60-year-old reflexes and some signs of befuddlement. His senior chum, "Robo," pictured above with the cub, is not on the blog payroll. Robo has a son who is an assistant football coach at Ohio State.