GAMBRILLS, Md. — They have been the feel-good story of this high school football season: the Crofton Cardinals. Their football program is only three years old following the opening of the school in 2020 with only freshman and sophomores and with a football season cut short by COVID.
Now those sophomores are seniors, 25 of them on the football team. They comprise the school's first graduating class. With age has come success on the gridiron.
Last year the Cardinals finished with the record of 2-8. This year they are off to a 3-1 start. It is a team built on a stout defense that has allowed a minuscule eight points per game on average. On offense they are run heavy and led by senior quarterback Ian Lenkart. He says it is great to finally see the hard work of the last couple years paying off.
"I’m definitely proud of all of my guys that have been here, all the stuff not under the lights - all the summer workouts, all the extra film - and all the work they’ve put in," he said. "We’ve come closer together. We’ve formed a brotherhood here and we have each other’s back and we have a trust with each other that I don’t think we’ve had before. I think that has made a huge difference this season."
"I feel like we could actually do something," added senior running back/linebacker Abraham Sani. "Just keep working, staying humble. I think we could do a lot of good things and upset a lot of teams this season."
"It’s been awesome," said head coach Todd Sommerville. "You always expect great things. But then when you see the fruits of their labor and you see the wins and the positive attitudes coming out, it really just makes you feel good."
Sommerville has certainly had an unorthodox start to building a program. It is one he said has been fun and exciting.
That excitement continues on Friday night when the Cardinals travel to Pasadena to face Northeast (2-2) at 7:00 p.m.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
