Cardinals Grab JPG 7v7 Passing tourney title

Fresh off a successful effort in the University of Virginia’s Cavalier Shootout, the Cardinal football team traveled to Dumfries on June 26 for John Paul the Great High School’s inaugural 7on7 tournament. Ireton seemed to sleep-walk through their first game, dropping a contest to St. John’s High School (Frederick, MD). A game against rival Bishop O’Connell and inspired play by captains Theo Daubresse and Tommy Gallinaro’ got the team headed in the right direction. The Cardinals stuck together and showed off a talented receiving corps in Sean Boldaji Moses Webb and Merid Merid, topping the Knights in a close game. They were less fortunate against the host team, losing Tommy Gallinaro to an injury that left the Redbirds with a 1-2 record at the lunch break.

Junior Moses Webb looked forward to the afternoon, noting, “”We just need to pick our heads up and realize that we still have a good opportunity to have success.” The Cardinals road his back to a victory against Palotti School in which P.J Zingler, Sean Boldaji, Ned Curry, and Zane Bush showed great ability and effort. Excellent catches by Boldaji, Webb, and Merid helped lead the Cardinals to a 2-2 record, which qualified the team for the playoffs.

The playoff game started with a scoring drive by Bishop O’Connell. Ireton came back with a beautiful drive lead by quarterback P.J. Zingler and wide receiver Merid Merid. The Cardinals defense was tough in the middle, led by Patrick O’Connell, Jacob Ramey, Robert Banez and Kevin Moreno. A great interception by Jonathan Frischkorn sparked a Cardinal offensive drive highlighted by Bush, Boldaji and Andrew Bladen. The Knights answered back with a deep pass, but a stout Cardinal defense stood firm at the goal line when Webb shut down star receiver Justin Trimble. Ireton sophomore QB P.J. Zingler delivered a beautiful ball to Moses Webb in the end zone for the Cardinals’ playoff victory as time expired. It was clear that the Cardinals were determined to win as they entered the championship game against host John Paul the Great. Ramey got the Cardinals defense off on the right foot by picking off a Wolve pass. Riley Walters put the Cardinals on top with a touchdown reception and the Cardinals held a slim lead when the Wolves scored, but missed an extra point play. Cardinals were then lead down the field by P.J Zingler and Andrew Bladen. The game was sealed a short time later when Moses Webb made an acrobatic touchdown catch. The Cardinals never looked back as they won the Pope John the Great 7on7 tournament.

“We started off cold and were not at the top of our game, but we picked up the pace and won it all thanks to our hard work,” said rising junior receiver, Merid Merid.