Blue Devils Fall To Visiting Thomas, 13-0

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  • Above: Cordell’s Carsen Nickel penetrates the backfield for a big sack against Thomas. Bob Henline | The Cordell Beacon
    Above: Cordell’s Carsen Nickel penetrates the backfield for a big sack against Thomas. Bob Henline | The Cordell Beacon
  • Below left: Raydon Kuehne brings down the Thomas running back.
    Below left: Raydon Kuehne brings down the Thomas running back.
  • Below right: Cordell QB Aiden Zanghi gets a pass off under pressure.
    Below right: Cordell QB Aiden Zanghi gets a pass off under pressure.
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The Cordell Blue Devils continued their tough defensive play last week against the Terriers of Thomas, but were unable to find the end zone and ended the game with their fourth loss of the young season, falling 13-0.

Cordell won the toss and elected to defer possession, kicking off to Thomas to start the game. The Terriers wasted no time marching down the field, seemingly running at will, to put their first touchdown on the scoreboard with less than two minutes elapsed in the game. Thomas’ kicker missed the point-after, leaving the score at 6-0. It seemed as if the game would quickly slip out of control for the Blue Devils when Thomas’ kick-off after the touchdown was fumbled by Cordell and recovered by the Terriers on the Cordell 29 yard line, but Cordell junior defensive back Raydon Kuehne put the brakes on the Thomas drive with a clutch interception on the one yard line.

The defenses battled back and forth throughout the remainder of the first quarter, with both teams working their way downfield, but stalling in the face of tough defensive play. The tough defense continued into the second quarter until Thomas, with just under one minute left in the half, managed to push the ball over the line and convert the point-after to take a 13-0 lead. Cordell’s special-teams woes continued on the ensuing kick-off, as the short kick was recovered by Thomas, leaving the Terriers in a position to pick up an extra score before halftime. The Cordell defense, however, was not to be pushed around. They rose to the challenge and fought to keep the Terriers from adding to their lead.

Cordell made some defensive adjustments during the intermission, and the defense came out even stronger in the second half. Thomas’ running game, which had been causing fits for the Cordell front line, was all but shut down in the second half. Plays that had, in the first half, earned big yards for the Terriers were being read at the line of scrimmage and shut down for short gains and losses.

Head coach Zane Trammell said he was proud of the effort his young team gave in the effort.

“Though I’m not happy with the final score, I am happy with the effort and fight that the boys played with for all four quarters,” he said. “Our youth and inexperience are showing less and less each game. I know we’re getting better week to week. We have to continue taking pride in doing things right and trust that it will pay off. We’re focusing on ourselves more than we are anyone else. We’re excited for our next opportunity against Merritt.”