2021 Season Preview: Landrum Cardinals

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Landrum’s going to trust the guys up front.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s the message the Cardinals are sending this year, and it’s reinforced by a change in offensive philosophy.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The RPO-based attack that Landrum has featured for the past several season is gone, and will be replaced by the Double Wing. That fits right in with the Cardinals’ rugged, run-heavy opponents in Region II-2A, and is something that Landrum coach Jason Farmer said is a testament to a young but talented line on both sides of the ball.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">“Our strength will be our offensive line and our defensive line,” Farmer said.  “Both these groups will still be young, but we’re really confident they will be good players for us.  We will start four sophomores up front on offense, but two of those started all six games last year as freshmen and the other two played a significant amount of time.”</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s one upperclassman leading the way up front for the Cardinals, as [player_tooltip player_id="91197" first="Ethan" last="Dugat"] returns at right guard. Dugat is Prep Redzone’s 24th-ranked offensive lineman and 113th-ranked overall player in the 2022 class. He’ll be joined by <strong>Jayden Van Wettering</strong> and <strong>Matthew Hodges</strong> as the three returning starters on the Cardinals’ line.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">They’ll pave the way for returning running backs <strong>Ryan Bunleut</strong> and<strong> Kegan Duncan</strong>, who will be crucial to Landrum’s success in their new scheme.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Defensively, <strong>Ronnie Belue</strong> will lead the way for the Cardinals from the outside, as the defensive end registered 42 tackles, three sacks, 10 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in six games last season. Dugat returns at noseguard, with <strong>Ben Ross</strong> at defensive tackle in the Cardinals’ Reduction 50 defense. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The linebacker group is a strong one, led by returners Bunleut, <strong>Eli Quinn</strong>, and <strong>Caleb Emory,</strong> while<strong> Franklin Davis</strong> and <strong>Grayson Foster</strong> return in the defensive secondary.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Farmer thinks a quartet of sophomores will give the Cardinals a boost, with <strong>Brandon Mashtare</strong> at running back and safety, <strong>Colton Link</strong> at running back and cornerback, <strong>Chase Sheehan</strong> at offensive tackle and noseguard, and <strong>Jayden Virgil</strong> playing inside linebacker.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Farmer hopes to see the Cardinals adjust quickly to the change in scheme, and that the team’s younger players will continue to grow.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">“We’re moving to a more run-oriented scheme, so we must improve in doing just that,” he said. “We’re also really young in the secondary, so I hope that our front end protects them as they grow throughout the season.”</span>