Aggies crash Cards' party

Circumstances can turn on a dime in the span of two weeks.

Two weeks previously, the Carrington football team was riding high following a convincing win over Grafton to improve to 3-0.

But an overtime defeat to the rival HWC Hornets by one point, 28-27, meant the Cardinals needed to regroup and quickly against another hungry Park River Area squad.

On the strength of big games on the ground by Tucker Omdahl and Brennan Schramm, and timely passing by the Aggies' Jace Rosinski, Carrington's strong start is now in the rear view mirror after a humbling 24-22 loss at Homecoming Friday, September 20.

Two games, three points, and now the Cards are in dire need of momentum to steer their ship towards what they hope is a return trip to the Class A playoffs.

"Despite our slow start, we put ourselves in a position in the fourth quarter to win the game," CHS Head Coach Kyle Smith said. "Our kids kept battling and never quit, but we need to play with more urgency early in games."

The Aggies scored first in the second quarter on Rosinski's four-yard run, making use of their no-huddle offense and quick snap count to surprise CHS.

Cardinal quarterback Josh Bickett scored the first of his three touchdowns on the ground on the next drive to tie the score at 6-6, but PRA got the last laugh of the half with a five-yard score by Omdahl to put the halftime tally at 12-6, Aggies.

The story of the first half was Park River Area's time of possession, as they ran 40 plays to just 10 for the Cards.

Things looked bleak after a fortuitous bounce for the Aggies on a punt in the third quarter put CHS at their own one-yard line.

However, Carrington would march 99 yards for the leading score on Josh Bickett's 10-yard scamper, and luck seemed to switch to the Cards when a botched extra point snap led to a two-point conversion pass to Ryder Bickett for a 14-12 lead.

The Aggies had an answer in that instance too, as Rosinski heaved up a 50-50 ball to Noah Troftgruben that the sophomore receiver snagged for a 32-yard score to retake the advantage by four at 18-14.

Park River Area then elected to wrest momentum back fully with a perfectly-executed missile of an onside kick that ricocheted hard off the Cardinal coverage team and back to the Aggies.

The backbreaking score would follow in the fourth quarter, and it came from a name familiar to old-school Cardinal football followers.

Schramm displayed the speed evocative of his father, current PRA Superintendent Aaron Schramm and 1988 CHS state champion, on a 66-yard sprint through the Cardinal defense to give the Aggies a 10-point cushion.

In the final seconds, CHS still wasn't done, as Josh Bickett scrambled around the field for a 23-yard score that probably covered about 60-plus yards in running time.

The onside kick attempt was recovered by PRA, sealing the win for the visitors.

Omdahl was a headache for the Cards to bring down all night, finishing with 102 yards on 23 carries. Schramm's big play made him the number two rusher with eight runs for 95 yards.

Rosinski was 8-for-14 for 167 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, both coming late to Ryder Bickett deep in CHS territory in the first half.

"They're a big, physical team," Smith said. "Most of their line is back from last year, and they gave us issues then as well."

Carrington was held under 400 yards of offense for the first time this season, ending up with 234.

Corbin Clifton led the yardage stats with 82 yards on seven carries, and Josh Bickett ran for 60 yards on seven carries. He was 7-for-13 for 84 yards, mainly limited by the Cards' short possesion time.

The defensive leaders were Clifton with 11 solo stops and Tate Wolsky with 10 (19 combining with his assists).

So, the Cards went to Belcourt last Friday for a now-crucial game against the Turtle Mountain Braves (1-4, 0-3 Region 2), and another bus ride comes this Friday night for a matchup with region favorite Langdon Area/Munich (4-1, 3-0).

"We have very little room for error now, so we need to approach every game with the attitude of a playoff game," said Smith.

Class A - Region 2 Football

Park River Area 24,

Carrington 22

PRA 0 12 6 6 24

Cgtn. 0 6 8 8 22

Second Quarter

Park River Area: Jace Rosinski 4 yard run (kick failed)

Carrington: Josh Bickett 21 yard run (kick failed)

Park River Area: Tucker Omdahl 5 yard run (kick failed)

Third Quarter

Carrington: J. Bickett 10 yard run (Ryder Bickett pass from J. Bickett)

Park River Area: Noah Troftgruben 32 yard pass from Rosinski (run failed)

Fourth Quarter

Park River Area: Brennan Schramm 65 yard run (run failed)

Carrington: J. Bickett 23 yard run (Corbin Clifton run)

Carrington Statistics

Offense

Passing: J.Bickett 7-13-84 yards

Rushing: C. Clifton 7-82; J. Bickett 7-60-3 TD; Tate Wolsky 2-8

Receiving: R. Bickett 2-42; McKade Zink 2-27; Peyton Harrington 1-15; Maddox McIlonie 1-14; Wolsky 1-3; C. Clifton 1-2

Defense

Tackles (unassisted/assisted): C. Clifton (11-5); Wolsky (10-9); Zink (6-2); Harrington (6-2); R. Bickett (5-1); Dylan Bachmeier (4-2); J. Bickett (3-0); Jacob Hinrichs (3-1); Alec Threadgold (3-4); Gabe Clifton (2-1); Cody Otto (2-4); Drew Matt (1-1); McIlonie (0-1)

Interceptions: R. Bickett 2

Tackle for Loss: C. Clifton 5, Wolsky 3, R. Bickett, Hinrichs, Threadgold, Zink