Cardinals plucked by Skyhawks
Cardinal Newman 14
Hammond 34
By George Kaupp

Photo by Jim Marczesky Hammond wide receiver Rashad Ishmael runs for one of his two touchdowns. Ishmael has 42 receptions for 942 yards and 12 touchdowns this year.

Hammond's Punky DaSilva threw for three touchdowns and running back Jerry Kuilian ran for two more as the Skyhawks (6-0, 1-0) celebrated Homecoming with a 34-14 win over the visiting Cardinals from Cardinal Newman.

The scoring started with 4:12 left in the first quarter as DaSilva connected with speedster Rashad Ishmael down the right sideline for a 44-yard touchdown. On their next possession, the Skyhawks marched down the field, and on the first play of the second quarter, DaSilva threw a 6-yard pass to Ben Strickland for a touchdown. After a failed two-point conversion, Hammond led, 12-0.

On their next possession, the Skyhawks relied on the strong legs of Kuilian, who ran for the bulk of the Skyhawks' 242 rushing yards. With just under two minutes remaining in the half, Kuilian ran it in from the 16, and after punching it in for the conversion, Hammond went into the half up 20-0.

Photo by Jim Marczesky Senior cheerleader Sarah DeBruhl is the Hammond homecoming Queen. Carter Scott (#11) was elected homecoming king. Scott leads the Skyhawks with 53 tackles and is the school's all time leading tackler with 343 and counting. He had 17 tackles against Cardinal Newman including three for loss.

Cardinal Newman (2-3, 0-2) got back into the game in the third quarter by capitalizing on turnovers. A recovered fumble on a punt led to the Cardinals' Palmer Stokes charging in from the six-yard line about midway through the third. After Stokes intercepted DaSilva and returned the ball 47 yards to the Hammond three, Will Garnett punched it in for the touchdown. After Jones Brown ran the bootleg for the two-point conversion, Cardinal Newman only trailed 20-14.

The Skyhawks responded on their next drive, taking only three plays to score after a nifty 50-yard kickoff return by Robert Simmons. Kuilian twisted and turned his way to a 29-yard score, and with the two-point conversion put Hammond up 28-14.

DaSilva and Ishmael hooked up again in the fourth quarter to ice the game, this time on a 58-yard touchdown pass.

Photo by Jim Marczesky Quarterback Jones Brown is the Cardinals' leading rusher with 185 yards this year.

The Skyhawks allowed the Cardinals only 66 total yards of offense, compared to the 524 they rolled up. However, the Skyhawks committed four turnovers and were flagged 14 times for 117 yards, allowing Cardinal Newman to hang around for most of the game.

Cardinal Newman next plays a homecoming game this Friday, October 6, against Richard Winn Academy at George R. Watson Field. Hammond will host nemesis Porter-Gaud.

Photo by Jim Marczesky Will Garnett powers the ball in from the one yard line around Walker Inabinet (#12) for a Cardinal touchdown.