Ticket to the dance

The postseason picture, in spite of a pair of midseason setbacks, became clearer and clearer with each passing victory for the Carrington Cardinals.

In the wake of their biggest win of the season to date, the Cards held their playoff fate in their hands: Win, and they're in.

With 327 rushing yards as a team and three touchdowns on the ground from quarterback Josh Bickett, CHS earned themselves a spot at the playoff table with a 35-14 win at Cardinal Stadium Friday, Oct. 11, over Rugby.

"It was a good team win," said Head Coach Kyle Smith. "Clinching a spot is definitely a relief, but we still have some work to do in order to improve our seeding."

The defense did their job even more effectively, holding the Panthers to just 95 yards of total offense.

Much of Rugby's total came on the first offensive series for the Panthers (3-5, 2-4 Region 2), capped off by a 30-yard touchdown scamper by running back Taytum Risovi.

Bickett then took charge with the first of his trio of scores, a six-yard run, and the Cards took the lead, 7-6. Off a Rugby punt deep in their own territory, returner McKade Zink got around the edge and rambled into the end zone untouched for a 46-yard return and a 14-6 advantage, all in the first quarter.

The Cardinal offense mostly chewed up clock for the remainder of the half, and the senior signal-caller, pressed into increased ground duties since the season-ending injury to Corbin Clifton, finished Cardinal drives with dual runs of 15 and one yard. Along with Peyton Harrington's four extra points, the Cards were in cruise control, 28-6 at the break, and had a chance to add three more points if not for a Harrington field goal miss.

Rugby showed a brief sign of life in the third quarter thanks to a big play from their defense. A fumble by Zink after he slipped on a handoff was scooped up by the Panthers' Jaxon Miller, and returned all the way for a 42-yard potential momentum swing. With the two-point conversion from Risovi, it was suddenly just a 14-point cushion at 28-14.

For a while in the third quarter, the Cards' level of execution suffered a bit due to penalties and negative plays. It took the first rushing touchdown of the season for senior tight end Ryder Bickett, a 22-yard run to the pylons in the fourth quarter, to provide the final breathing room.

Josh Bickett (16 carries for 96 yards) and Zink (eight for 94) were the leading rushing gainers, and Tate Wolsky had some chunk yardage in his 68-yard performance, as did Harrington for 47 yards.

Wolsky had an outsized influence on the defensive side, getting 19 combined tackles (12 solo), four tackles for loss and a sack.

Behind center, Josh Bickett went 5-for-10 for 52 yards passing, all in the first half, and cousin Ryder was his top receiver with 46 yards on three receptions.

Carrington's win, coupled with Bottineau's 35-12 victory over Grafton, means that all Region 2 playoff spots are now spoken for with just Week 9 to go.

All that remains is the seeding, which was clarified once the final horn sounded at regional football fields Friday night, Oct. 18.

"All we can do at this point is control what we do Friday night against Bottineau," said Smith. "If we win, our worst case scenario is that we are a 3 seed and play either Central Cass or E-E-K on the road."

The Cards' final regular season game was this past Friday evening against the Braves at the Fairgrounds in Bottineau. Results from that game will be published next week.

Playoff scenarios

Going into the final week of regular season games this past Friday, Carrington technically could be slotted anywhere from the fourth to the top Region 2 seed depending on how things transpire.

The most likely landing spot would be the third seed if they defeat Bottineau, assuming wins by both Langdon Area/Munich and HWC in their respective games. A loss to the Braves locks them into the fourth seed and a trip to top-ranked Region 1 champion Kindred on Oct. 26.

Things could get interesting with a combination of a CHS victory along with an LA/M loss to Grafton (a game held this past Thursday,) in which case the Cards get the number two seed and a home playoff game due to their head-to-head 27-19 win.

A Carrington win plus HWC loss to Park River Area would still mean the third seed, as the Hornets have the tiebreaker with the 28-27 overtime loss earlier this year.

However, there is still a remote scenario where all things could align their way and the Cards would get the top seed. That would involve a win plus both an LA/M and HWC loss, which would trigger the three-way tiebreaker. In that case, head-to-head point differential is the determinant, and Carrington would be the top seed with +7, HWC would be the second seed at 0 and LA/M would be third at -7.

So, the range of playoff opponents for CHS are as follows:

Fourth seed: at Kindred

Third seed: at Central Cass/Ellendale-Edgeley-Kulm winner

Second seed: Home vs. CC/E-E-K loser

Top seed: Home vs. Oakes

"We're in a bit of a unique situation going into the last week, depending on how things play out," said Smith. "Either way, our kids will be ready, and hungry for a playoff win."

Class A - Region 2 Football

Carrington 35, Rugby 14

Rugby 6 0 8 0 14

Cgtn. 14 14 0 7 35

First Quarter

Rugby: Taytum Risovi 30 yard run (run failed)

Carrington: Josh Bickett 6 yard run (Peyton Harrington kick)

Carrington: McKade Zink 46 yard punt return (Harrington kick)

Second Quarter

Carrington: J. Bickett 15 yard run (Harrington kick)

Carrington: J. Bickett 1 yard run (Harrington kick)

Third Quarter

Rugby: Jaxon Miller 42 yard fumble return (Risovi run)

Fourth Quarter

Carrington: Ryder Bickett 22 yard run (Harrington kick)

Carrington Statistics

Offense

Passing: J. Bickett 5-10-52 yards-INT

Rushing: J. Bickett 16-96-3 TD; Zink 8-94; Tate Wolsky 8-68; Harrington 4-47; R. Bickett 2-20-TD; Grady Idland 1-2

Receiving: R. Bickett 3-46; Harrington 2-6

Defense

Tackles (unassisted/assisted): Wolsky (12-7), Gabe Clifton (6-5); Alec Threadgold (5-3); Zink (4-2); Cody Otto (3-4); R. Bickett (2-0); Harrington (2-2); Maddox McIlonie (1-0); J. Bickett (0-1); Drew Matt (0-1)

Sacks: Threadgold, Wolsky 1

Tackles for Loss: Wolsky 4, Otto, Threadgold, Wolsky

Fumble Recovery: R. Bickett