The Bayou Lacombe Cardinals took on the Alabama Blackhawks on February 29, 2020 at Lakeshore High School in Mandeville, Louisiana. Both teams came out ready for battle and went blow for blow through the first quarter. The Cardinals defense was a cut above the rest, as they had four interceptions and five sacks in the first half and seemed to only improve the further the game went one.
While the defense forced many turnovers, the offense could not seem to capitalize on said turnovers. Both defenses held solid through the first quarter, but Alabama seemed to pull away as the game went on. In the second quarter, the Blackhawks drew first blood on a run from the four yard line.
The Bayou Lacombe defense would prove solid again with a pair of key sacks halfway through the second quarter. However, Alabama began to resort the ground game, which was successful through the remainder of the first half.
Bayou Lacombe had two possessions in rapid succession as the Cardinal defense added yet another interception on the first play of the Blackhawks last possession. With all their timeouts used up, the Cardinals failed to put the ball in the end zone as time expired in the first half. In the start of the second half, an onside kick by Bayou Lacombe failed and Alabama started off with a deep pass for over 30 yards which set them up for a 20 yard run which put them into the end zone on their opening drive.
The Cardinal offense came out with an answer to the stout Alabama defense. They put together a pair of successful quick passes that turned into big gains. However, they failed to string the rest of the drive together and turned the ball over on downs and stalled the momentum they had put together. The very next play showed the defensive prowess showed by the Cardinals as they added yet another interception to their stat line.
The next two possessions for each team ended in a turnover until Bayou Lacombe drove down the field but failed to stick the ball across the goal line. The Cardinals held the Blackhawks within the five thanks to a few penalties. The first points of the night came from the defense of the Cardinals.
A muffed punt and intense defensive pressure helped force a safety and took the goose egg off the scoreboard. Bayou Lacombe kept the defensive pressure applied and came away with pair of interceptions to end the game.
The Blackhawks offense seemed too much to bear as they kept sneaking their way into the end zone on a pair of run plays. As time winded down in the game, the Cardinals could do nothing more as Alabama ran the clock out with some a few more first downs.
Bayou Lacombe finished the game with 108 passing yards and only 30 rushing yards, but showed the strength of their defense with double digit turnovers including two fumble recoveries, eight total interceptions, and seven total sacks. Alabama ran away with the game with a total of 160 rushing yards, but were held to only a measly 36 yards through the air. The Cardinals fell to the Blackhawks 30-2. Bayou Lacombe will take on the Greater Pensacola Jets on March 7 in Pensacola, Florida.
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