Earlham Echo

September 30, 2025

After being blanked by one of the top teams in Class A the week prior, the Cardinals had a chance at a ‘get right’ game last Friday. They took advantage by beating Colfax-Mingo, 55-6, in Earlham on Homecoming.

The Tigerhawks came into the game ranked 55^th out of 56 teams in Class A on the BCMoore scale. To their credit, they played hard for 48 minutes, but they just didn’t have enough against a fired-up Cardinal team. Earlham piled up over 400 yards of offense, including 384 on the ground. Their defense smothered the Tigerhawks and forced 3 interceptions.

The Cardinals were not flawless this night, but the start of the game was as close to perfect as you can get. Konnar Stiles opened it with a textbook onside kick. The ball skidded for 9 yards, then bounced high over the first line of Tigerhawks. Josh Winey got behind them, leaped, and came down with the ball at the Colfax-Mingo 43 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Winey ran a sweep around the left end and sprinted into the end zone. The PAT was no good, but 12 seconds into the game, the Cards led, 6-0.

After the ensuing onside kick went out of bounds, Colfax-Mingo made it clear they were not going to roll over for the Cardinals. They drove 40 yards in 5 plays for a touchdown. Their PAT also failed, so the game was tied at 6.

The Tigerhawk defense also responded, forcing a Cardinal turnover on downs at their own 9 yard line. Two plays later, though, the Cardinals got the ball back when a long pass was tipped by Winey, then intercepted by Brady Reynolds.

On 2^nd down from the C-M 47, Winey ran the ball for 27 yards. Two plays later from the 19, he ran a sweep to the right. He stiff armed a defender at the 14, avoided another at the 2, and knifed into the end zone for another TD. On the ensuing 2-point conversion, Reynolds completed a pass to Blaine Tiedemann in the end zone, and the Cards led, 14-6, with 4:27 to go in the 1^st quarter.

The Cards got the ball back on a turnover on downs at their own 39 with 19 seconds left in the 1^st, and Winey struck again. On 1^st down, he ran another sweep to the right. Still behind the line of scrimmage, he cut back left at the hashmarks between two defenders, then shimmied back to the right. Ty Conry delivered an excellent block at the 45, and Winey was gone down the sideline for another score. After the PAT kick, the Cardinals led, 21-6.

The ensuing onside kick bounced off a Tigerhawk and the ball was recovered by Chris Ridgely at the Earlham 46. On 3^rd and 1 from the C-M 45, Cash Eitel ran through a big hole up the middle, broke an arm tackle at the 43, and found daylight. He sprinted downfield, cut back and bowled over a would-be tackler at the 21, and ran into the end zone. The Cards led, 28-6 at 11:42 in the 2^nd quarter.

After a Colfax-Mingo punt, the Cardinals had the ball back at the Tigerhawk 48. Konner Keller started the drive with a 24-yard run. Cash Eitel then ran up the middle again and smashed his way to the 2. He capped the drive on the next play with a TD plunge. The PAT was no good, and the Cards led, 34-6 at the 9:08 mark of the 1^st half.

Winey ended the next C-M drive by picking off a pass at the Cardinal 48 and returning it to the Tigerhawk 28. On 2^nd down, Winey ran wide right, then proceeded to break 6 tackles on a serpentine route that finally ended at the 9 yard line. The Tigerhawks pushed the Cardinals back to the 11, but on 3^rd down, Winey scored again. Cash Eitel scored on the 2-point conversion and the Cards led, 42-6 at 5:11 of the 2^nd.

Colfax-Mingo put a good drive together on their next possession, getting the ball to the Cardinal 11, but a sack and a penalty pushed the ball back to the 21. On 2^nd down, the C-M QB overthrew his receiver near the goal line and Reynolds intercepted the pass. Reynolds followed a wave of blockers to the right and ran 100 yards for another Cardinal score. The PAT was no good, but the Cards led, 48-6.

With a running clock, the 2^nd half moved swiftly. In the 3^rd quarter, Winey returned a punt 55 yards to the end zone, but it was called back due to a penalty, and the Cards took over at the C-M 42. On 2^nd down, Winey had another dazzling run, all the way down to the 2. Cash Eitel scored on the next play to complete the scoring.

Winey ran 13 times for 251 yards and 4 touchdowns. Cash Eitel ran 9 times for 103 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jaxen Speedling was a force on defense, finishing with 6 tackles, 4 solo. This Friday, the Cardinals take on the 3-2 BGM Bears in Earlham. Bears’ quarterback Beau Burns leads Class A in rushing yards, all-purpose yards, and touchdowns.