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The Cardinals kicked off the 2004 season at home at Busch Stadium on Sunday against division foes the Louisiana Voodoo, and for the 3rd time in 3 meetings it was the Cardinal defense that stepped to the forefront.
CB Charles Yon, who picked off 4 Interceptions in a game against Louisiana last year, stepped up up again with 2 more intereceptions while MLB Noel Daniels added an interception, his 2nd pick in 3 games against the Voodoo.
The Cardinals took the opening kickoff and marched 47 yards to set up Boyce Hedden for a 54 yard FG, it would be 1 of 3 50+ yard FG's on the day for Hedden, one of which came on the next Redbirds possesion to put them up 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Voodoo would put together their best drive of the day on their ensuing possesion, a 15 play, 76 yard drive that covered 6:37 and culminated in a Clarence Goodin pass completed to 86 Bent for 13 yards and a touchdown!
The Cardinals countered with their own march however, immediatly putting Louisana back on their heels.
Mark McMurray engineered an 80 yard drive that ended with a 12 yard TD pass to key free agent signee, FB Jamal Cotter, the score put the Cardinals up 13-7 with 3:14 left in the first half.
The Voodoo went into their 2 minute offense and moved the ball to the Cardinals 47 when Noel Daniels made a game changing play. Daniels intercepted a Clarence Goodin pass at the Cardinals 31 with 33 seconds left in the half.
McMurray then took the field and moved the team down to the Louisiana 35 where Boyce Hedden connected on his 3rd 50+ yard FG of the half and send the Cardinals into the half with a 16-7 lead.
The 3rd quarter started as a war of attrition as the teams traded the ball following the kickoff. Charles Yon then stepped up, picking off his first pass of the season, a Clarence Goodin deep out that floated a bit too long.
The teams would the ball back and forth into the 4th quarter when Louisianas defense stepped up and Sunderland picked off McMurray at the Voodoo 32, stopping what may have been a game cementing drive for the Cardinals and keeping the Voodoos hopes alive. The Cardinals defense would step up however, limiting Louisianas offense to a 3 and out.
The rain soaked battle of the trenches continued over the next 10 minutes as the Cardinals ran the clock and Louisiana tried to forge any kind of offensive attack. Finaly, with just over a minute left in the game, Charles Yon picked off another Clarence Goodin pass, this one intended for WR David Pereira to seal the game and wrap up a 16-7 Cardinals win.
The win is a key victory in what will no doubt be another challenging Division race, and the Cardinals have no desire to rest on the laurels of last years AFC South Championship as they clearly showed they are more than ready to defend their title.
Despite last years guady run defense statistics, alot of people were ready to write of the Cardinals interior as a fluke, but on Sunday the D-Line set out on a journey to prove that they are every bit as good as the numbers indicated.
Veteran Raymon Guffey returned while 2nd round pick John Mitchell stepped up to the plate as he has taken over the spot LDT spot from George Powers who left for Murfreesboro in the offseason.
At the DE spot Louie Maldonado continues to show why he commands a double team on nearly every snap, the 3rd year vet is quickly earning a reputation as one of the leagues top all around Ends. Roscoe Lee and Albert Covington meanwhile continue to strike fear in every QB when they line up, both men have amazing pass rush skills that reak havoc on opposing linemen.
Noel Daniels and Robert Yates return to lead the LB unit, while Walter Borja, who was injured in the opener last year and missed the entire season, has shifted to SS in order to make room at WLB for Dexter Black.
The secondary, if possible, has improved with the additions of Borja, rookies Tito Anderson and Walt Middleton and the continued maturation of what may be the leagues best CB tandem of Drew Sandstrom and Charles Yon.
Kicking at unaerodynamic Busch Stadium is never easy, kicking in humid, dense 98 degree air is never easy, kicking in a driving rain is never easy, kicking 3 fifty yard Field Goals in all 3 conditions at once is no problem for Boyce Hedden.
The 12 year veteran knows that a team built around defense and ball control offense relies on it's Kicker maybe more than most other teams, and he doesn't shy away from it, or the weather, "Mark has to thrown in the rain, C-Dog has to break and cover passes in the rain, Dominique has to run in the rain, I have to kick in the rain, I can't go to the locker room after the game and say, hey guys, "sorry but i couldnt kick in that stuff" what would that say about me", Hedden remarked after the game. And in fact it was Heddens 3 long FG's that were the difference in this 9 point Cardinal win.
Prior to the game the Cardinals unveiled their new Uniforms. Last year the Cardinals played all their games in a new baby blue design that was concieved when St. Louis was awarded an IFL franchise, this year they unveiled a retro, old school uniform in the style of the old NFL St. Louis Cardinals that will serve as their home uniforms while the baby blues will remain as the road uniforms.
QB Mark McMurray came out blazing on the day, going 22-37 for 224 yards and a TD.
RB Dominique Winton ran the ball 12 times for 73 yards.
FB Jamal Cotter made a huge impact on his first day in a Cardinal uniform catching 10 passes for 86 yards and a TD.
WR's Zachary Hall, Phillip Brauer and Mark Stoy all caught 3 passes, Stoy was especially impressive as the rookie 6th round pick continues to make a solid case for his spot as the slot WR on this team.
MLB Noel Daniesl Led the team with 8 solo tackles, 4 assists and an Interception.
CB Charles Yon christened the new season with 2 Interceptions.
Murfreesboro 1-0
St. Louis 1-0
Louisiana 0-1
Houston 0-1
The Cardinals travel to Michigan next week to take on the 1-0 Lansing Ogres, The Ogres defeated Fargo this week 21-17 in a tightly contested battle.
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