Cards lose to Tigers in round one

A trip to the Delta Friday night was a difficult one for the Potts Camp football team.

The Cardinals lost their starting quarterback to injury in the second quarter and went on to fall 36-0 to Leflore County in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs.

“We played hard,” coach Darrow Anderson said. “But when Peyton (Aldridge) went down, the game plan had to change.”

Aldridge had to exit around the six-minute mark of the second quarter with Potts Camp trailing 16-0.

“He had over 100 yards passing before he went out,” Anderson said, “and then we had to completely change our offensive plan.”

Josh Blake moved to quarterback and filled the shoes well, rushing for between 150 and 200 yards, according to his head coach.

“He really did a good job filling in,” Anderson said. “I’m proud of the way Josh stepped up. He put the team on his shoulders when Peyton went down, and he performed like the leader I know he is.”

The Cardinals found themselves in a 28-0 deficit at the end of the third, and the Tigers tacked on another score late in the fourth.

“We kept popping off first downs in the game,” Anderson said.

“We got inside the 10-yard line three times, but we just couldn’t punch it in.

“The yardage difference between the two teams was probably not that much different.” He said his Potts Camp defense turned in a strong performance overall.

“We had some big stops in the game,” he said. “But we gave up three or four big plays that cost us. We had an interception and two fumble recoveries.”

Anderson said his team is still young and still developing that winning mentality.

“It’s coming,” he said. “We’re just not quite over the cusp yet.

“We’ve got a good young team coming back, and we made the playoffs, which is something to build on for next year. We just have to keep working.”

The Cardinals finished with a 4-6 record.

Leflore County (7-3) moves on to face Northside in the next round of the playoffs.