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RANDOLPH – A short week and a big challenge didn’t equal to a great chance for success last week for the Randolph Cardinals football team.
Playing Thursday against an elite, top-ranked D2 Wynot squad turned out to be a big ask and the Cardinals fell 54-6 and are now 2-3 this campaign.
“Wynot came in top ranked and proved as good as advertised,” Randolph head coach Mark Lech said. “The Blue Devils scored quickly and padded their lead in the second quarter and never looked back.
“We couldn’t match the speed of Wynot’s skill position players and gave up a lot of big plays. We put together a promising drive in the second quarter only to come up short inside the two-yard line.”
The offense struggled breaking into Wynot territory but Shaw Backer made some tough catches and a few big kicks to flip the field.
Randolph got its lone score off a third-quarter, threeyard touchdown run by Gage Jensen.
Bryson Eledge (20 carries, 46 yards), Dayton Winkelbauer (40 yards passing) and Backer (four catches) had the Cardinals’ big performances on the night.
Next up, Randolph hosts Bloomfield for Friday’s Homecoming game.
“We will again have a tough opponent as Bloomfield comes in highly ranked,” Lech said. “The Bees are a power team that has had their way with us over the past few years. We will have to switch from a finesse team which they just faced against Wynot to the bruising power team of Bloomfield.
“The seniors are looking forward to the game to not only play against a tough foe, but also to play their senior Homecoming game. Aiden Gubbels, Joe Miller, and Bryson Eledge will lead the team out Friday night in the hope of a victory.”
Backer said he would like to see his team work on some basics like holding blocks and tackling, but he is seeing the right signs going forward.
“That’s the first time we played a really good team in a long time and it showed that we can still make big plays versus good teams. Big plays don’t come with bad teams.”
So, what does he expect from Bloomfield? “We know it’s gonna be tough, but we can always get better and the next two games after, we’re for sure (able to win),” Backer said. “If we improve from these two games and get better over the last games we have, that’ll put us one step above.
“We’re still getting better and it’s not a step back playing really good guys. This is an opportunity.”
