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Break up the Cards! Osborne wins No. 2Posted Saturday, September 12, 2009 by Linda Rodgers 
September 12, 2009 01:00 AM MARIETTA - Some wins just mean more to a program than others. For Osborne, last night's 37-33 win over Woodland is one such game. The Cardinals have now won back-to-back games for the first time since 2001. They sit 2-1 on the season, and Principal Steve Melitto could not be happier. "Right now, I'm beyond words because I'm going to tear up," he said. "I've wanted this to happen to our school for so long, and I just can't say enough about it. We've been through a lot; our kids have been through a lot, and everything that we have been trying have happen...it's incredible. It just means so much to this school." The game was in doubt for Osborne after a third quarter that saw Woodland score 13 unanswered points to take a 27-16 lead. But Cardinals' coach, Troy Jones, said his team was ready for a battle. "We knew it was going to be a tough game," he said. "We told them to stay focused because our football team is growing and we are learning how to win and that's the last step that we have to do in order to have a complete football program. When you learn how to win it becomes a habit, and that's what we're doing now." MVP honors for Osborne have to go to Emmitt Rice. The senior running back finished with 18 carries, 121 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the second half. The other half of Osborne's dynamic duo at running back was Jerimi Johnson, who rushed for 127 yards on 16 carries and scored one touchdown. "We've got two good running backs and we've been blessed to have two good ones," Jones said. "We just work hard every day and that's what we tell our players everyday: just play hard, even if you mess up, just play hard." One reason why this victory meant so much for Osborne was after the controversy of having to forfeit the season finale last season against Woodland, a decision that put a lot of heat on the Cardinals. "Last year we had to forfeit our last home game, and some words were exchanged and we got criticized a lot by their fans," Jones said. "People always look down on our school, and by us having to forfeit with our kids best interest at heart, that did not help our image. We took it personally when a lot of fans started talking bad about our program." The Cardinals can take solace in the fact that they achieved revenge and earned their first winning streak in over eight years.  |
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