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PREVIEW: Melissa Football debuts new stadium in season opener
After an incredible season last year, the Melissa Cardinals are looking to start their 2023-24 season strong-- this time in a brand new stadium! The Cardinals will host their season opener this week as they look to start what could be another deep playoff run. What can fans expect from Melissa this fall? VYPE DFW dives right in to the program:
REWIND
Facing tough non-district opponents, the Cardinals started their 2022-23 campaign with two losses to Argyle (37-18) and China Spring (42-41). With the ability to regroup and bounce back, the team defeated Royse City (48-24) before entering district play. Going 7-0 in district play and finishing at the top of their district standings with victories over the likes of Crandall (50-22), Terrell (56-21), Denison (54-44), Lucas Lovejoy (36-35), and more, the team eased their way into playoffs.
Once in playoffs, Melissa took down Hallsville (57-20), Ennis (42-38), and Terrell (42-21) before falling to eventual state champion South Oak Cliff (30-16).
LOOKING AHEAD
The team gears up to take on the new season in a brand-new stadium. With athletes like Landen Brandow, Lincoln Dunn, Nigel Smith, Nathan Adejo, Khristian Turner, Jackson Ford, Trever Ham, Gunnar Wilson, Jason Anunobi, and more, the team can be expected to post a strong start to their non-district schedule as they host Argyle on August 25th.
With the determination to make a convincing run toward state, fans can expect this experienced squad to cook with gas this fall. Facing tough non-district opponents will prove to prepare the team for their district schedule against Crandall, Mesquite Poteet, Greenville, and more. With the fire to smoke through their schedule again, there's a good chance we will see another strong playoff push from the Cardinals.
STUNNED: Melissa Cardinals shutout reigning State Champs Argyle
Another long streak has come to an end in the Dallas Fort Worth area as the Melissa Cardinals not only post a dominating win over the defending Class 4A Division I State Champions, but a dominating SHUTOUT win over the Argyle Eagles on Friday night.
A 20-game win streak for Argyle came to a halt as the Cardinals stepped onto the field and never looked back Friday night. In what proved to be a successful revenge game for Melissa, the Cardinals fought tooth and nail for a hard-fought win against Argyle who beat them 16-0 last season.
Led by senior quarterback Sam Fennegan, the Cardinals posted three unanswered scores against Argyle. Fennegan accounted for one rushing touchdown on a two-yard keeper. Freshman running back Nathan Adejokun and senior running back Ashton Mitchell-Johnson both accounted for a touchdown each. Adejokun's touchdown coming on a 43-yard carry for a touchdown while Mitchell-Johnson's came on a 10-yard run. Junior kicker Aidan Pintor accounted for two point-after kicks while senior female kicker Anna Blankenship kicked the final point-after in Melissa's statement win. All of the Cardinals' scores came in the first half of the game and although Argyle's defense met the Cardinals' offense with force in the second half, Argyle's offense simply could not answer back against a Melissa defense that did everything right on Friday night.
The loss is Argyle's first regular-season loss in four years (a 46-36 loss to Celina in 2015). The win is the fourth straight win for the Cardinals who originally opened the season with back-to-back losses against Celina (who lost to Argyle earlier this season) and Frisco Memorial.
Melissa improves to a 4-2 record (2-0 in district play) and looks ahead to a well-deserved BYE week before taking on Anna on October 15th.