Cards drop fourth straight on grid

The scheduling gods may have been particularly unkind to the Carrington Cardinal football team.

Of the four teams in Class 11B Region 2 that the Cards have faced, three of them are currently at the top of the standings, with an 11-1 combined record.

That stretch continued Friday night, September 9, as undefeated Thompson rolled into Stadium '22 and took down CHS, 36-14, behind a balanced attack that netted the Tommies 405 yards of total offense.

However, the quality of opponents Carrington has faced is little consolation to Head Coach Kyle Smith, who knows his team is capable of playing much better than their winless 0-4 record has shown.

"We continue to dig ourselves in a hole by being passive and unfocused early in games," said Smith. "To beat a team like Thompson, you can't make those mental and physical mistakes. We need to start taking the field with more focus and attitude."

In the first quarter, the Cards couldn't contain the Tommies' fleet-of-foot junior, Brody Gibson. Listed as a wide receiver on the NDHSAA roster, Gibson put his running chops on full display, getting to the outside with regularity on two scoring runs of 15 and 18 yards. With the two-point conversions, Thompson got out to a 16-0 lead after 12 minutes.

Sophomore 6'3, 195-pound quarterback Jake Starcevic also showed why he is one of Region 2's better two-way offensive threats. As part of his night, where he ran for 101 yards and passed for 145 more, he had a three-yard touchdown to make the score 24-0 following a Gibson two-pointer.

Starcevic would go to the air for the Tommies' fourth score, a 15-yard strike to Karter Peterson, in the third.

The final score for the Tommies came in the fourth, on Reece Berberich's five-yard run.

Gibson finished with 91 yards on the ground on 16 attempts for Thompson, and the two scores.

Carrington running back Hudson Topp, wearing the linebacker's number 52 on this night, was the big contributor both in the passing and running games.

Topp had an impressive catch and run past the Tommie secondary for a 34-yard touchdown from Josh Bickett in the second quarter, and also rammed his way in from one yard out in the third. For the game, he was the offensive leader in yards from scrimmage with 124 yards (65 rushing, 59 receiving.)

"Since we're a ball-control, move the chains type of offense, we don't have the playmakers to be a quick strike offense, and that's been our Achilles heel all season," said Smith.

Bickett was 5-for-14 for 88 yards for Carrington.

The Cardinal defense was led by 11 total tackles by both Kael Kovar (10 of those unassisted) and Topp. Also in double digits for tackles were Corbin Clifton and Grady Shipman.

Recording an interception for CHS was McCoy Beckley, and he also had a tackle for loss. Mark Thomas recovered a fumble and had a sizable return on the play for one of the Cards' defensive highlights.

Homecoming 2022 is in the air this week, and the Cards host the Park River Area Aggies at 7 p.m. at Stadium '22.

The Aggies are currently 1-3 on the season, with their only win a 44-8 rout against rival Grafton, and they played the Tommies very tough in a 20-16 loss in week two of the season.

"Our region schedule is very tough, but we have some games left that are winnable if we play more physical and focused, and with some pride and passion to win," said Smith.

Class 11B Region 2 Football

Thompson 36, Carrington 14

Thom. 16 8 6 6 - 36

Cgtn. 0 6 0 8 - 14

First Quarter

Thompson: Brody Gibson 15 yard run (Gibson run)

Thompson: Gibson 18 yard run (Reece Berberich run)

Second Quarter

Thompson: Jake Starcevic 3 yard run (Gibson run)

Carrington: Hudson Topp 34 yard pass from Josh Bickett (run failed)

Third Quarter

Thompson: Karter Peterson 15 yard pass from Starcevic (run failed)

Fourth Quarter

Carrington: Topp 1 yard run (Topp run)

Thompson: Berberich 5 yard run (kick blocked)

Carrington Statistics

Offense

Passing: J. Bickett 5-14-88 yards-TD-INT

Rushing: Topp 14-65-TD; Corbin Clifton 1-13; Logan Weninger 4-11; J. Bickett 5-6; McKade Zink 2-2; Kael Kovar 2-1

Receiving: Topp 2-59-TD; Grady Shipman 1-20; McCoy Beckley 2-9

Defense

Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Kovar (10-1); Topp (7-4); Weninger (4-4); Clifton (4-6); Jake Otto (3-1); Ryder Bickett (3-0); Shipman (2-8); J. Bickett (2-1); Beckley (2-3); Hudson Schmitz (2-1); Brock Jungels (2-6); Maverick Zink (2-0); Callen Garber (0-1)

Interception: Beckley

Fumble Recovery: Mark Thomas

Tackles for Loss: Beckley, R. Bickett

Thompson Offensive Leaders

Passing: Starcevic 9-17-145 yards-TD-INT

Rushing: Starcevic 101 yards, TD; Gibson 16-91-2 TD