PLANO:  The Varsity Football team welcomed a number of special guests to the field on Friday, celebrating Future Cardinal night with a number of DPL schools in attendance, as well as honoring the 20th Anniversary of the September 11th, 2001.  The Cardinals invited four members of the Plano Police Department and four members of Plano Fire-Rescue's Truck #2 to midfield to join in the pre-game coin toss, shortly followed by a moment of silence for those who made the ultimate sacrifice twenty years ago.  

With a full home crowd in attendance for the first time in two years, John Paul II was eager to make a statement and jumped out to a quick lead on just the third play from scrimmage.  Junior RB AJ Sibley ripped off a 40-yard run straight up the middle, assisted by some dominant blocks up front, and put the Cards ahead.  A quick three-and-out by the JPII defense meant the home team had possession again, delivering chunk play after chunk play.  Junior QB Drew Forkner connected with junior WR Justin Blancaflor on a 39-yard crossing route, followed by a 35-yard scamper from junior RB Caesar Alex.  Three plays later, facing third-and-three, Forkner found Blancaflor in the flat to make it a two-score game.  

The Eagles responded with a long TD drive of their own to make it a 7-point ballgame, but it would be all JPII from there on out.  Forkner hooked up with senior WR Jude Nicolaidis on a 41 yard dime up the sideline to put the Cards in the redzone, and Sibley punched it in from 16 yards out, making it 21-7.  Another stiff defensive stand from the home team, combined with a big punt return from senior WR Ben Boland, put the Cards back on the attack across the 50.  With the drive stalled, head coach Mario Edwards elected to punt, sending in sophomore punter Jacob Carlson, who pinned Legacy Christian back deep in their own territory on the 5-yard-line.  The JPII defense stymied the Eagles once again, and on the first play of the ensuing possession for the Cards, Forkner dumped a clever screen off to Sibley on the right side, who took it 49 yards for the score.  Another punt from Legacy gave John Paul II possession once more, and the Cards went right back to work.  With the ball just across midfield, Forker delivered a simple slant ball to Nicolaidis, who slipped a would-be tackler, and housed it 46 yards, outrunning the entire secondary for the 35-7 lead with 12.9 seconds on the clock in the first quarter.  

The fans were treated to more of the same in the second quarter, as junior LB Joshua Robinson forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, giving the Cardinals the ball on the 21.  Three plays later, Sibley found the end zone for his third rushing score of the night, a ten yard sweep to the right, breaking a pair of tackles along the way.  Legacy Christian punched back with a 38-yard touchdown strike on their next drive to make it 42-13.  On the JPII offense's next turn, Sibley made it a night to remember, bouncing one outside and scurrying past the Eagles' defense for his fourth ground score of the game, and fifth touchdown overall, a 43-yard beauty of a run.  

John Paul II's defense forced yet another three-and-out, and on first-and-ten from the Legacy 16-yard line, sophomore WR Michael Bahash stunned the Eagles' secondary with a clever sluggo route, getting both feet in bounds along the back of the end zone for the 55-13 lead.  Later, with just under four minutes to go in the first half, the Cardinal defense set up a punt return, with Blancaflor set up deep to return.  The junior two-way phenom received the punt near the midfield logo and proceeded to shake the Legacy coverage team, with the help of a handful of key blocks along the way, en route to his second score of he night, a 50-yard punt return touchdown.  The Eagles added a bit of drama in the final two-minutes of the half, capitalizing on a pair of missed tackles in the Cardinals' secondary and scoring from 69-yards out to make it 62-20 heading into the half.  

With a running clock during the final two quarters, the Cardinal offense put just one touchdown on the board, as Forkner and Nicolaidis connected once again, this time from the two-yard line.  Give credit to the visitors, who gave the Cardinals return team fits with a number of onside kicks.  The Eagles would go on to score three times in the second half, but it would prove to be too little, too late as JPII went on to win 69-43 on Future Cardinal Night.  

The Offensive Staff named AJ Sibley the Player of the Game, after the junior rushed nine times for 153 yards and four scores, while catching one pass for 49 yards and another score.  Defensively, the Cardinals showed immense growth since their Week 2 loss to St. Thomas, and the entire defense was named Player of the Game.  On Special Teams, standout performances include sophomore Blake McKenna, who recorded solo and assist tackles as well as six first-down-fields, junior Justin Blancaflor for his punt return TD, and senior Deacon Croes for recovering a pair of onside kicks.  

Other notable performances include senior Jude Nicolaidis (9 rec, 186 yds, 2 TD), junior Caesar Alex (4 rush, 52 yds, 3 rec, 30 yds), and sophomore K/P Jackson Bell, who was nearly perfect on PATs, going 9/10 on the night.  Defensively, the linebacker duo of Dominick Anderson (5 tackles) and Joshua Robinson (4 tackles) helped set the tone, while sophomore DB Drew Moreno (3 PBUs) and freshman Marshall Tucket (2 PBUs).  

Now 1-1 on the season, the Cardinals will host Bishop Lynch this Friday for the start of TAPPS district play, while celebrating Senior Night with fellow members of the Band, Belles, Cheer, and Spirit Boy groups.