Jill Tanis contributed to this story.
Hart's defense played a decent game Friday night against West Michigan Conference Lakes foe Orchard View, but five turnovers by the Pirate offense doomed the team in a 46-0 defeat to the Cardinals, the team's second straight loss by shutout.
The Pirates (2-4, 1-3 WMC Lakes) allowed 227 total offensive yards, but gave OV short fields much of the night through turnovers and went 0-for-2 on their own red zone opportunities.
Hart's struggles started right from the opening kickoff, when Hart fumbled and the Cardinals recovered to set up a short 22-yard scoring drive.
OV added two more first-half scores to go ahead 22-0 at halftime. The Pirates' best chance to get back in the game came late in the first half, as they put together an 11-play drive that reached the 12-yard line in the final seconds. However, the drive was snuffed out with an interception.
“We fumbled the opening kickoff and I felt the air kind of go out of our team,” Hart coach Joe Tanis said. “We just didn’t have the same energy, but we still continued to play with great effort, in my opinion. I don’t think the game was as bad as the score makes it look.”
After Orchard View put another score on the board to start the third quarter, Hart responded with another lengthy drive, going 10 plays to reach the Cardinals' nine-yard line. But again, OV picked off a pass, and this time it was taken back 90 yards for a score by Ca'Mari Reese, making it 34-0 and effectively ending the game.
The Pirates were picked off on each of their next two possessions as well, setting up short fields and relatively easy touchdown drives for Orchard View.
Hart's running game was largely stifled all night, with Jordan Thies' 28 yards leading the team. Kolton Rockwell threw for 105 yards, 51 of them to Sawyer Boos. Haegan Hansen led the defense with eight solo tackles, two of them for a loss.
OV's win was just the latest in a string of good games being played by the formerly cellar-dwelling Cardinals, who lost every league game they played from 2022-24 but have been revitalized under coach Aaron James. OV is 2-2 in the WMC Lakes, having beaten Whitehall in addition to the Pirates. Both their losses have come by a combined 11 points.
“You have to give Aaron James and his Cardinals some credit,” Tanis said. “They've got some phenomenal talent on that team.”
One silver lining of the evening was that Hart was able to get a good look at some younger players, such as freshman Easton Hopkins, who played the entire game on defense and recorded three tackles.
“He’s starting to do some things really well,” Tanis said of Hopkins. “We got to see some other guys get a chance and kind of show what they can do a little bit."
