Cardinals Saved the Tree

Hayfork went on the road to Beiber Thursday night and lost 36-8 to the Big Valley Cardinals. For as well as we played last week against Westwood, it was the exact opposite last night. We constantly made mistakes and couldn't get out of our own way. We had 13 offensive possessions and we took 9 of the 13 inside the Big Valley 40 yard line and came away with a total of 8 points. Bad snaps, turnovers, and mental mistakes cost us a chance of winning the game.

On the very first possession of the game, we put the ball on the ground three times in four plays.  We had a bad snap on the punt and gave Big Valley the ball at our 5-yard line, which they quickly turned into a run for a TD and we were quickly down 8-0. We fought back with a long drive finishing with a QB sneak by Dakota Mummy, who also ran in the 2 point conversion to tie the game at 8-8. Big Valley finished the half with a 50 yard TD run making the halftime score 16-8 in favor of the Cardinals.

In the 3rd quarter, the game was played out very similar to the 1st quarter. Three offensive drives stalled inside the Big Valley 40 yard line, and the Cardinals had two TD passes of 40 yards and 25 yards bringing the score at the end of the third quarter to 30-8. Big Valley finished the game with a 65-yard run and the final score was 36-8.

The total offense between the two teams was almost even.  Hayfork had about 270 yards rushing, but only had 8 points to show for it. Noah Fielding had 150 yards rushing on 30 carries. He also had a 95-yard kickoff return for a TD that was called back for a penalty for clipping. Devin Nanez carried the ball 18 times for 65 yards, and Dakota Mummy had 41 yards on 14 carries with a TD.

Defensively, Nanez had an interception, Fielding had a forced fumble, then Mummy and Andy Yang each had a sack.

It was a rough night considering we controlled the ball and had about twice as many offensive plays as Big Valley did. We found ways all night to make mistakes, and give Big Valley big plays. We need to be more focused and pick up our intensity. Hayfork plays again this Thursday at 4:00 pm against the Princeton Eagles at HHS. Hopefully, we can make some adjustments, and get back on track.