he Harmony Grove Cardinals earned a hard-fought victory in Week 7, defeating 5-3A foe Centerpoint on the road, 40-36. In a place that is tough to play, Head Coach Paul Calley was extremely pleased with his guys’ effort.
“We had a really great effort last week,” Calley said. “Our kids battled back. We had the lead, we gave it back, we took it back, we lost it again. They fought all the way to the end.”
Senior quarterback Hunter Hilson put together a stellar performance, completing 21 of 24 for 302 yards and two scores.
Junior running back Jake Brooks, too, put together a memorable night, rushing for 197 yards, three TDs, all on 25 carries. Junior receiver Sean Small excelled with seven catches for 150 yards and two TDs for the Cardinals as well.
Calley and the Cardinals will be welcoming the defending 3A State Champion Prescott Curley Wolves (6-1, 3-1) into Sykes Stadium following a good week of practice, despite being without a number of players due to “a sickness in the locker room.”
Calley said 10 were forced to the sidelines in Wednesday’s practice, but he expects all hands on deck come Friday night.
“I am sure that is going to play a factor in the game,” Calley added.
Prescott fell for the first time in conference play since Week 10 2013 last week at Glen Rose, 38-27.
“Prescott coming off of an emotion loss to Glen Rose, they are going to have something to prove,” Calley said. “I figure we are going to get their best effort.”
The Curley Wolves had a tough go at throwing against Glen Rose’s secondary, tossing five interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns.