Carey track sprints
past Tigers 58-44
Lundergreen steps it up,
runs strong for Carey
By MICHAEL AMES
Express Staff Writer
Carey School enjoys its track meets—and the Panthers certainly
had one on the gridiron Friday against Richfield.
By the time the Sawtooth Conference eight-man football game
was over, the two teams had piled up 14 touchdowns and 102 points. That’s high,
even for an eight-man game.
Randy Lundergreen spots a seam en route to a long return past Richfield
defenders like Colbin Naylor (#20) Friday. Express photo by Willy Cook
Carey (2-2) emerged with a 58-44 victory, keeping alive a
lengthy winning streak against Richfield (1-4), now at 15 games.
Carey head coach Lane Kirkland called the game "a track meet."
And in this track meet, Randy Lundergreen clearly brought home the gold.
Lundergreen, a senior, scored four touchdowns and led Carey on
defense, too.
"Randy really stepped it up – it’s the best game he’s ever
had," said Kirkland. "I’m really proud of the seniors—they believed they could
do this and after last week’s fourth quarter, they got the ball rolling and it
never stopped."
The offense started early for Carey, which has scored 80
points in its last five quarters at Derrick Parke Field.
Cody Baird of Carey, carrying the ball, had a good night against
Richfield before leaving the game with an injury. Carey won the high-scoring
game 58-44. Express photo by Willy Cook
Lundergreen caught Friday night’s opening kickoff and ran it
back 40 yards into the Richfield Tigers’ defensive zone. Before the chains had
moved again, Carey freshman Cody Baird ran the ball in for a touchdown. A
two-point pass made it a quick 8-0 game.
Carey wouldn’t give up that lead for the rest of the game.
Though Richfield did pull to within eight points a few times, the Panther
offensive attack led by Lundergreen was relentless.
Eight-man football tends toward more wide-open games, but even
coach Kirkland said he "hadn’t been in one that wide open."
Touchdowns came from every side of the ball. On special teams,
Lundergreen returned four kickoffs for a total of 173 yards and one touchdown,
covering 80 yards.
On defense, Carey senior lineman Blake Surerus recovered a
missed Richfield snap and ran in it for a touchdown.
But Richfield never gave up.
Senior 6-3, 235-pound Tiger captain Charlie Amy was a
versatile weapon as he cleared the way from his tackle position and also
lead-blocked from fullback and even ran the ball on several occasions. Amy was
reminiscent of Refrigerator Perry or today’s Warren Sapp as he dragged bunches
of Carey defenders on his back while driving for extra yards.
Richfield QB Victor Vasquez was the most potent Tiger
offensive striker as he passed and ran the ball for four touchdowns. Senior
captain Kyle Yorita and junior Colbin Naylor were also very effective.
The Panthers scored nearly every way possible, but coach
Kirkland should have been most satisfied with the textbook screens his team ran.
A screen will often fake out a few rushing defenders, but in
this eight-man game, it seemed the entire Richfield defense bit on every screen.
The middle screen was Carey’s bread-and-butter.
Sophomore quarterback Tyler Cook would get the ball off just
before getting tackled by the stampeding Tiger rushers and invariably Cody Baird
would snag the pass and run for a first down.
At the opening of the second half, Carey had a scare as
freshman Baird went down with an ankle injury. In the first half alone, Baird
had averaged 13 yards per carry with eight carries for 111 yards.
Baird, who scored three TDs against Richfield on runs of 3, 16
and 77 yards, is expected to be sidelined for several weeks.
After Baird was carried off the field, you could feel the
concern in the stands and on the sidelines as one of the Carey’s offensive
weapons was suddenly out of commission.
The concern didn’t last, however. Lundergreen quickly picked
up the slack and lead the team to its eventual win.
Lundergreen was the obvious MVP of the second half and the
entire game. He ran the ball for a team-leading 178 yards on 17 carries. He
scored two touchdowns on runs of 51 and 45 yards. Lundergreen needed only one
reception for a team-leading 50 yards and a touchdown on receiving.
Even on defense, Lundergreen’s play was exceptional with a
team-high 12 solo tackles and the only Carey pass interception.
Other Carey standouts included senior powerhouse Bryson
Ellsworth, whose effective lead blocking cleared the way for Baird and
Lundergreen all night. Ellsworth also had one sack.
Also huge on defense was hard hitting #11, junior Max Adamson
with seven solo stops.