Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The George Rogers Clark High School football team traveled to Richmond on Friday night, where they faced a stellar Madison Central High School football team that had lost to perennial state contender Frederick Douglass by just seven points one week earlier. 

In front of a lively home crowd, the visiting Cards (4-4) wouldn’t back down. 

GRC (4-4) scored the final 24 points of the contest and came away with a 27-15 victory. 

“I’m proud of the kids. I’m proud of the way they work. I’m proud of our coaching staff,” said GRC Head Coach Joe Chirico. “It’s just a good group of guys to be around.” 

The contest’s opening suggested the Cardinals could be in for a long night. 

On its opening drive, Madison Central (5-3) drove to the endzone, culminating a long drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Carson Herbst. 

After a two-point conversion run by Herbst made the score 8-0 in favor of the Indians, GRC lowered the deficit courtesy of a 24-yard field goal by senior Hayden Cockrell. 

Yet a 3-yard touchdown run by Madison Central’s Shaun Reese – who reached the end zone just before being stripped of the ball by the Cards – made the score 15-3 in favor of the Indians with only 3:21 remaining before halftime. 

However, the Cards scored quickly and often for a huge momentum boost to end the first half. 

After a long kickoff return by sophomore Braylon Nester, senior Zaydin Turner scored on a 53-yard touchdown run with 2:27 remaining before halftime. 

The Cards ‘ offense regained possession with just over one minute to go before halftime. 

In arguably the play of the game, senior quarterback Sam Clements found fellow senior wide receiver Kamden McAlpin for a 66-yard touchdown pass, with the extra point giving GRC its first lead of the game at 17-15 with only 39 seconds remaining before halftime. 

Coming out of the locker room, Madison Central attempted to move the ball to the endzone. 

However, not only would GRC’s defense thwart their scoring attempt, but they would create one of their own after Nestor returned a fumble forced by senior Daniel Kubian 68 yards for a touchdown to give the team a 24-15 lead with 2:58 remaining in the third quarter. 

The Indians once more threatened to score, driving inside GRC’s 5-yard line. 

However, following a false start penalty by Central’s offense, GRC’s defense made a critical fourth down stop to return possession in their favor. 

A long drive, ending in a 31-yard field goal by Cockrell with just 12 seconds remaining, provided the final 27-15 score and capped off an impressive victory. 

“These guys…compete [against] each other every week. We’ve seen that in practice. We just [hadn’t] seen it in the game,” Chirico said. “It’s good to be a part of that!” 

The Cards return to the gridiron on Friday, October 25, for the final home game of the season at Cardinal Stadium. They’ll take on Frederick Douglass (5-3). 

Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.