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LANDRUM—On Friday at Cardinal Stadium, the Landrum Cardinals (5-5, 1-4) defeated the Blacksburg Wildcats (3-7, 0-5) to put the Cards in the playoffs and send their seniors off with a final home win. 

Every Landrum senior served as a team captain, and the entire team played with maturity and consistency, putting together the Cardinal’s most complete game of the season. Both teams came in tied for last in the Region 1 2A standings, with the winner qualifying for the playoffs by finishing 4th in the Region. 

The Cardinal’s star senior running back, Colton Link, started the scoring with a 16-yard touchdown run to make it 6-0 after a missed extra point. A failed fake punt by Link would give Blacksburg an excellent field position at the Cardinal 19, but the Cardinal defense led by AJ Lindsey and Sam Smith would shut them down and get the ball back for their offense. 

Quarterback Titus Poore would follow it up with a touchdown scamper and two-point conversion to give the Cards a 14-0 first-quarter lead. Link and Poore would then combine on a 33 touchdown-pass to put Landrum up 21-0. Link would follow up with an 11-yard run to give the Cardinals a 28-0 halftime lead. 

Link would score again on a 10-yard direct snap to give them a 35-0 lead in the 3rd quarter. Sam Smith would score on a short touchdown run for the Cardinals. Blacksburg would score a touchdown in the fourth. And Landrum’s defense would finish the game off, forcing a late safety to cement the final score at 44-7. 

Landrum will travel to play Strom Thurmond (8-2, 5-0) in Johnston, SC on November 3rd with a 7:30 p.m. start time. The weather is predicted to be in the mid-60s with no precipitation.