Football bye week ‘at just the right time’
RANDOLPH – A 2-4 team with hopes of a potential state playoff spot after two previous seasons of struggle made the Randolph Cardinals’ football bye week an interesting watch.
The Cardinals, who face Creighton on Oct. 5, have made noticeable progress after going 1-17 the past two years.
“We just played two top teams in the state in back-to back-weeks, so we used the bye week to not only get healthy, but also to focus on the end of the schedule (to) where we can be more competitive,” Randolph head coach Mark Lech said. “We knew going into the season we needed to win some early games because the schedule gets really tough in the middle.
“We were disappointed in not beating Boyd County or St. Mary’s. We felt going in we needed to win one of those two games to take the next step and be in the hunt for the playoffs,” he said.
Regardless of those disappointments, the positives are much more obvious for the Cardinals this fall.
“The main positives are the amount of playing time our younger players are getting,” Lech said. “Not only are we playing a full JV schedule, but also we have multiple freshmen and sophomores playing a lot of varsity.
“Ryan Engel, a freshman, has played in every game this year. He has been an important part of the varsity defense and is the quarterback for the JV. The upperclass guys have pulled us through these last two weeks and are excited about the prospects of these next two weeks,” he said.
Even at 2-4, the Cardinals are feeling like the postseason is a possibility with regular-season games against Creighton and at Wausa left in 2023.
“We feel we match up well against Creighton,” Lech said. “They have hit the tough part of their schedule and I am sure they will be looking forward to playing us. It is the seniors’ last home game and we would love to have their last memory at home (be) a victory. The preparation for the game feels like a playoff game as it is that important to our season.
“If we want any chance at the playoffs, we need to win these next two games. The team knows what is on the line down the stretch and it now just needs to execute to be successful,” he said.
Sophomore Corbin Wattier said the bye came at just the right time.
“Some of our important guys, they’ve been banged up,” Wattier said. “I think that if we are in the right mindset, we will be able to take down these two teams because we should be able to beat them.”
Wattier said the squad worked on its run game and pass coverage. He added it “would be awesome” if the Cardinals could return to the state playoffs for the first time since 2019.