Turnovers Doom Cyclones As They Drop Season Opener

A young Cyclone football team showed promise, but ultimately couldn't come out on top against the St. Mary's Cardinals, losing 28-16.

St. Mary's took an early lead, ending the first quarter up 8-0. The Cardinals scored one more time in the second to take a 14-0 lead before Clay Thiele recovered a bad snap in the end zone to tighten the score, 14-8. 

In the second half, St. Mary's began to pull away. They used a consistent run game and effective play-action game to keep the Cyclones on their heels. Two quarterback dives on the goal line by St. Mary's quarterback Josh Cuddy gave the Cardinals a 28-8 lead going into the fourth quarter. 

Cyclone quarterback Blake Hoke added a quarterback dive of his own in the fourth quarter to bring the score to 28-16. A big punt return by Creston Bertschinger gave Clearwater-Orchard hope, but a costly fumble would allow St. Mary's to run the time out on a drive that included two fourth-down conversions.

In his first career start, Hoke was 6 for 15 passing for 56 yards. He threw two interceptions, both within the Cardinal's 20 yard line, and added eight yards and a touchdown on the ground. Bertschinger and Jacob Long combined for 57 yards on the ground while Travis Kerkman was Hoke's top target, pulling in 21 yards through the air.

Hoke also lost a fumble on the night, as did Long.

Long was also very active defensively, accounting for 21 total tackles. 

The loss drops the Cyclones to 0-1 on the year. They now turn their attention to their homecoming game next week, a match-up with Neligh-Oakdale.