Comets roll to 74-0 win over VBC

ELDON - Cardinal Comets quarterback Maddux Jones threw five touchdown passes and rushed for another to lead the Comets to a 74-0 win against Van Buren County Friday in a Class 1A District 6 football matchup.

'The kids played well coming off a real tough loss (44-8) to Mediapolis, where I don't think we played our best,” Cardinal head coach Landon Miller said. 'We did not show who we were in that game, so our whole rallying cry was ‘show who we are.'

'We really wanted this one. It's rivalry game for us.”

The first quarter gave no indication of the lopsided outcome, with Cardinal holding a 6-0 lead at the end of the period.

The Comet floodgates opened in the second quarter though.

Cardinal running back Ian Liles found the end zone to cap a 7-minute drive that began late in the first quarter when Landon Becker picked off a pass from the Warriors' Lane Davis.

The Warriors fumbled the ball on the first snap of the ensuing drive, giving the Comets the ball at the VBC 31-yard line.

Jones hit Griffin Greiner for a 31-yard touchdown pass, putting the Comets up 22-0.

The Comets scored three touchdowns in the final 2 minutes and 13 seconds of the first half, including Blaine Bryant's 25-yard scoop-and-score on a Warrior fumble.

The Comets led 46-0 as the third quarter began.

Becker ran the opening kickoff for an apparent touchdown, but the play was called back on a Comet penalty.

Jones tossed two more touchdown passes - a 32-yarder to Greiner and a 52-yarder to Becker - in the third quarter.

Becker's fumble recovery and return for a touchdown with a little over 2 minutes to go gave the Comets a 66-0 lead heading into the final period.

With just under 3 minutes left in the game, Jones connected with Greiner for a 4-yard touchdown pass to cap the scoring.

In all, the Comets racked up 430 offensive yards - 279 in the air and 151 on the ground.

Liles recorded 63 yards on 17 carries and six receptions for 82 yards to lead the Comets in both categories. Bryant had five catches for 74 yards.

The Warriors managed 233 yards of offense, all on the ground. Davis had seven carries for 102 yards, while Sam Warth had 11 carries for 66 yards.

The win moves Cardinal to an overall record of 4-2 overall, 2-1 in the district while the Warriors fall to 1-4, 0-4.