Elizabeth easily dispatched Pagosa Springs last Friday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Cardinals fell just short of the Strasburg Indians by a score of 33-31 on Friday. The Cardinals were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Indians apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in October of 2024.
When it comes to explaining why Elizabeth lost, don't look at Tristan McCray. Despite the final result, he rushed for 167 yards and a pair of TDs on only 15 carries. McCray's longest rush was for an impressive 52 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Griffin Widhalm was another key player, rushing for 156 yards and two scores on only 12 carries.
Strasburg was led to victory by Brody Hopwood and Cade Hemphill. Hopwood threw for 282 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 74.2% of his passes, while Hemphill rushed for 95 yards and two TDs. Those 282 passing yards gave Hopwood a new career-high. 102 of Hopwood's passing yards were hauled in by Ayden Dodge.
Elizabeth's loss dropped their record down to 4-2. As for Strasburg, their victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-0.
We've got plenty of inter-league action coming up soon. Elizabeth is set to take on their familiar foe Bennett at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, Strasburg will challenge rival Englewood at 7:00 p.m. on the 17th. The two teams have allowed few points on average (the Indians 12.8, the Pirates 10.8) so any points scored will be well earned.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
