TIPTON - The Tipton Cardinals snapped a six-game losing streak with a 20-8 win last Friday night against the Santa Fe Chiefs.
It was the first win for the Cardinals (2-6) since the first game of the season when they won 41-12 against St. Paul Lutheran on Aug. 30.
Tipton coach Tony Braby said that the team played a good game.
"We still had some mistakes and I think we caught Santa Fe by surprise," Braby said. "I think (Santa Fe) was looking more at our overall record than what where were as a team and how we played. It was a good, hard fought, physical game."
Braby said the team seemed to have a lot more enthusiasm and aggressiveness.
"I think the tougher schedule allowed us to have that edge when we were playing them," Braby said. "Once the boys finally realized that hey we can hang with them and we can play with them that you could really see that their confidence grew a lot more with each quarter we played."
Braby said he could see during the post-game huddle the players were already getting ready for the next game.
"Just to see the smiles on their faces afterwards in the team huddle after the game and talking a little bit about what we had accomplished, you could see that they were already excited about playing the next team in Concordia," he said. "They even brought that up that hey we can not wait and let's it going type of raw, raw stuff. They are really looking forward to Senior Night and playing at home before the district playoffs."
Tonight, the Cardinals will try to close the regular season on a winning streak as they face the Concordia Orioles (3-5). The Orioles are coming off of a 56-28 loss to Crest Ridge last week.
Braby said the team wants to ride the momentum they now have and use it to their advantage.
"It is a big help that we won and we can continue that excitement into this game," he said.
Heading into this game, Braby said the Cardinals will have to mix things up on offense.
"We are going to have to mix it up with some inside runs, outside runs, and passing that will kind of keep them off balance," Braby said.
The 20 points the Cardinals scored in their win last week was the most points the team had scored since their 60-16 loss Sept. 6 to North Callaway.
When it comes to Tipton defense, Braby said Concordia has some fast and good running backs and the Cardinals are expecting Concordia to try to run a lot outside of the tackles.
But the team also has to be ready for long pass attempts
"The quarterback also has a good strong arm and he has some good receivers that they like to run the post pattern that we will have to contain," Braby said. "If we can take away their long passing and slow up their outside sweeps and make sure we get in the proper positions to make the plays, I think that will be a big help."
Game time is 7 p.m. in Tipton.