Cardinals get ready to face Owls

Tony Johnson had a feeling his Bishop Guertin High School defense could play well against Salem in last week’s football opener.

But a hunch is a long way from a guarantee.

“In the back of my mind, you know the kids should be able to play well, buy you really don’t know,” Johnson said. “There’s such a drastic difference from junior varsity to varsity games, and every one of those kids was playing junior varsity last year. I was fearful that the guys were just nervous. It’s a big game, and it’s touted as one of the biggest in the state and I’ve a got a brand new defense walking in there.”

The Cardinals held a 28-21 lead over the Blue Devils at halftime, and went on to win 48-21. The kids on the defense played all right.

“We made good adjustments in the second half and the kids did very well,” Johnson said.

Perhaps the biggest number of the game for Bishop Guertin was 97 – the combined rushing yards for Salem’s Max Jacques and Jerikson Fedrick, two of the top running backs in the state.

Mike Kelly showed that the Cardinals have a pretty good running back of their own, as he put up 187 yards on the ground and also caught three passes for another 125 yards. In all, Kelly had five touchdowns, including four on the ground.

“I was confident our ability to score points was going to be there,” Johnson said. “It was crucial to get a game under our belt, win or lose.”

The games that count start Friday, as Bishop Guertin heads out to Plaistow to face Timberlane Regional in the Division II opener for both teams. Game time is 7 p.m.

The Owls didn’t fare as well a week ago, falling to Pinkerton 42-15, but Johnson knows what to expect.

“No matter how they come into any game, we know their kids are going to be tough,” he said. “They’re a very disciplined team. They fight tooth and nail.”

Nick Lawrence ran for 108 yards and a touchdown for Timberlane, but the Owls had a hard time stopping the Astros, giving up 543 yards on the ground.

Knowing that Timberlane gave up that kind of yardage its last time out can’t be something that the Cardinals allow to stay on their minds.

“We have to understand what Timberlane is going to do,” Johnson said. “When games count divisionally, we can’t make a mistake.”