KFDM COOP Posted August 28, 2008 Report Posted August 28, 2008 Cardinals look for road win at Liberty Gabe Pruett The Orange Leader BRIDGE CITY — A lot has already changed for the Bridge City Cardinals this year heading into tonight’s first game of the season. The Cardinals’ nest is not full of injured Redbirds and Cris Stump is not a new guy on campus. Bridge City travels to Liberty tonight to take on the Panthers and this year it is the Cardinals’ opponent who is dealing with a new coach. Tonight’s game will be the debut of Shane Deel in Liberty after he took over for Jeff Stewart. Other than a hamstring injury to running back/wide receiver Dustin Breaux and a sore knee to linebacker Scott Romero, the Cardinals are as healthy as they come. It is a drastic difference from a season ago when the Cardinals were plagued with injuries before ever stepping on the field for their first game. “That’s a huge relief,†Stump, who said both Breaux and Romero should be ready to go tonight, said. “We are excited and ready to go. All we have done in practice is trade off hitting each other. It gets to be monotonous. We are ready for someone else and Friday we get our wish.†The Cardinals return 12 starters from 2007 including tailback Joe Robertson. Robertson rushed for 763 yards on 179 tough carries as a sophomore last year and scored five touchdowns. Robertson also collected 26 receptions for 129 yards. The spread offense may be a year older in Bridge City yet the player calling the plays will be a new face. Josh Lemoine takes over at quarterback tonight after throwing just 19 passes a season ago. The move frees up Breaux to move all over the field and takes advantage of his speed and agility. Breaux rushed for 497 yards on 88 carries last year with seven touchdowns. The senior threw for 1,273 yards and nine scores a year ago. “Dustin has been playing a little bit of everything and has done a nice job at it,†Stump said. The Cardinals battled the Panthers a year ago and eventually lost 28-25. If not for six turnovers and two blocked punts, the Cardinals might have been able to win their first game last year. Instead Bridge City suffered through a 0-10 record. “In the first game you really never know what will happen, more so than any other game during the year,†Stump said. “You go into the first game knowing some weird things will happen. It will be a tough game. “They (Panthers) have a new coach who came in late so they have some new things going on. Their running back (De’Jonge Robinson) is real fast so we are going to have to keep him contained. Liberty has a few big offensive lineman and a couple active linebackers. We are going to have to be consistent on offense and not turn the ball over six times. It would be great if something good happened to our team early in the game.†That too would be a lot different from a year ago.
Recommended Posts