No. 23 Yellowjackets too much for Cardinals

ASHLAND, Va. – The CUA football team had its hands full with No. 23 Randolph-Macon on Saturday afternoon as the Cardinals dropped a 56-28 decision to the Yellowjackets at Day Field.  Sophomore Greg Cordivari threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns but it was not enough as CUA falls to 2-4 following the setback.

CUA had only 16 first downs on the afternoon, while Randolph-Macon totaled 25.  Cordivari completed 17-of-43 passes for 308 yards and the three scores, but was also intercepted twice.  Alonzo Cooke was his favorite target as he hauled in seven catches for 207 yards and a pair of scores, while Mike Pitsenberger caught five passes for 47 yards.  Pitsenberger also rushed 20 times for 91 yards, including a 32-yarder.

Conor Stueckler led the CUA defense with seven tackles, including one for-loss, while Aaron Thompson, Kirk Kasa and Ryan Klein all totaled six tackles.

Drake Sanders rushed for 141 yards and a pair of scores for the Yellowjackets, while Will McGhee totaled 109 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns.  Randolph-Macon quarterback Austin Faulkner completed 19-of-29 passes for 231 yards and one score, while Earl Peoples caught 10 passes for 151 yards.

Andrew Leonard posted a game-high nine tackles for the Yellowjackets and Jeremy Bowry added seven stops.

The game was scoreless for the first 11 minutes as neither team was able to generate much on offense.  The Cardinals faced a fourth-and-seven from the Yellojackets’ 24-yard line on their second possession, but Cordivari’s pass fell incomplete and Randolph-Macon took over.

The Yellowjackets responded with a 13-play, 76-yard drive that took 6:02 and ended on a Faulkner to Dan Crouch touchdown pass as the home team took a 7-0 lead.  That was the lone score of the opening 15 minutes.

Early in the second, Randolph-Macon added to its lead when Faulkner scored from one-yard out to make it 14-0 with 12:40 to play before halftime.

The lead then swelled to 28-0 after the Yellowjackets scored twice in a matter of two minutes and that is how the game stayed as the teams retired for halftime.

Early in the third, the Yellowjackets scored again, this time on a Sanders one-yard rush, and CUA found itself down 35-0 with 11:40 to play in the quarter.

The Cardinals answered with their best drive of the day, as they went 56 yards in eight plays and scored their first touchdown when Cordivari hit Cooke for a 23-yard strike to make it 35-7.

Following a Yellowjackets score on their next possession, Andrew Ouellette took the ensuing kickoff and raced 77 yards to paydirt to make it a 42-14 game, which is how it remained entering the final quarter of play.

In the fourth, the Cardinals got a touchdown from Cordivari to Lawrence DeSimone on a 14-yard pass with 10:19 to play, and with 5:14 remaining, Cordivari hit Cooke for a 76-yard score, making it a 49-26 game.  Pitsenberger then ran in the two-point conversion to cap CUA’s scoring for the day.

CUA is off next weekend before returning to action on Saturday, October 23 when the Cardinals travel to take on Emory & Henry.  Game time is scheduled for 1:00.