The Edna Cowboy’s season has come to an end after a 49-6 loss to the Columbus Cardinals Thursday night. A disastrous start to the game put the Cowboys in a hole that they couldn’t overcome. Their season may be over, but this was one to remember for Cowboy fans.
Edna gave up a long touchdown drive to start the game, and on their first offensive play, a bad snap put them at their own one yard line, and with no real chance at continuing the drive. The Cardinals showed their offensive prowess in the first quarter as they put up four touchdowns, while keeping the Cowboys off the board. Edna Head Coach Jimmie Mitchell said, “One bad thing happened and we didn’t recover from that before another bad thing happened, and before we knew it we were way behind, and Columbus is too good of a team for us to do that.”
Early in the second quarter the Cowboys defense came alive, as Mike Kunkle and Hunter Buehring pressured the quarterback and Keegan Hicks broke up a deep pass attempt on third down, forcing Columbus to punt. The spark of momentum wasn’t quite enough as the Cowboys were held to a punt again. Columbus quickly added to their score with a one play drive that covered seventy yards. With eight minutes left in the second, the Cowboys were down 35-0.
The Edna offense found some rhythm midway through the second as Braylen Harris had a few long runs and a pass to Buehring, but their luck ran out at the thirty five, when the Cardinals stepped in front of a pass and picked it off. One play later the Cowboys got it back when Kieth Wilkins made a great play in coverage on a deep pass attempt and came down with the ball. The interception set the Cowboys up at their own twenty, but would end with a turnover on downs. With the short field, the Cardinals quickly added to their lead and made it 42-0.
The one bright spot for the Cowboy’s offense came just before the half, as Schubert found Harris on back to back passes for over fifty yards. Once inside Cardinal territory, Harris went back under center and hit Buehring in the back corner of the end zone for the touchdown. At the half, the Cowboys trailed 42-6.
The second half saw the Cowboys play much better defense, only giving up one touchdown, which was on a fourth down early in the third. Next time up, their defense came out firing, with Buehring and Robertson teaming up for a tackle behind the line, and Kunkle forcing a throw away while nearly sacking the quarterback.
Later in the fourth quarter, Tate Mitchell made a thunderous tackle to help force a Columbus punt, and although the Cowboys didn’t put up any more points, they were able to keep the Cardinals out of the end zone for the remainder of the game.
The Cowboys end their season with a 14-1 record and a third straight semi final appearance. It was an exciting year for Cowboys fans, and one that will not be forgotten.
