The Medical Lake Cardinals knew they faced a tall task in a Friday night Northeast A League football game at Freeman, the state’s No. 5 ranked team.
Not only were the Scotties powerful, but they were angry, too, following their 28-7 loss to top-ranked Colville the week before.
Freeman proved to be more than just a giant impediment and acted much like a steamroller, flattening Medical Lake 71-29.
“All the stars and planets aligned for those guys,” Medical Lake head coach Wes Hobbs said.
Through five games, Freeman had three shutouts and surrendered just under three points per game. That average went up in the Colville loss, but the Scotties were among the state leaders in defense.
If there was much of a take away for the Cards (1-4 NEA, 2-5 overall), perhaps it was finding a way to be the team that has scored the most points since 2010 against Freeman (4-1, 6-1). But that failed to take away from their inability to stop the Scotties’ powerful offense that had a 14-0 lead after just three snaps in the first quarter.
Medical Lake’s first touchdown came on a 56-yard pass from Cory Wagner and cut it to a 14-8 game with 4 minutes, 51 seconds in the first quarter. But Freeman added a pair of scores in the final 3:05 and led 28-8.
Markus Goldbach scored four times, one an 80-yard kickoff return as he ran 11 times for 162 yards for Freeman. Quarterback Preston Hoppman was a very efficient 5 of 8 passing for 153 yards, scoring once and passing for a pair.
“They’re averaging about seven points a game and we hang 28 on them in the first half,” Hobbs said. “I don’t know what it takes to make our kids believe they can win.”
Jackson Tappero’s touchdown with 1:31 gone in the second period was the first of his three on the night and made it 28-15. But Goldbach’s return followed on the ensuing kickoff. Tappero scored twice more on short runs to close the first half with Freeman leading 41-29.
“We went in at halftime and we’re only two possessions out of the game,” Hobbs said.
Tappero finished with 106 yards on 26 carries. Wagner was 8 for 16 and 183 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
Goldbach completed his stellar night, scoring twice in just 1:43 in the third quarter for Freeman, who led 62-28 after three quarters. They tacked on another touchdown and a safety in the fourth.
The Cardinals play their final home game Friday at 7 p.m. hosting Riverside (1-4, 2-6). “We still have the opportunity to finish one game higher than we were picked,” Hobbs said. “We have the opportunity to finish with two wins and go out with a respectable record for our seniors, but Riverside is hungry, too.”
Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.
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