By Van Wade—————

LIBERTY — The Bridge City Cardinals got just what they needed Friday night before they start grueling District 10-4A Division I play next week – a big road win.

The Cardinals were clicking on all cylinders at the expense of the Liberty Panthers as they cruised to a easy 35-7 victory.

The win by the Cardinals (3-1) enabled them to better last season’s win total. The Cardinals went just 2-8 last season but have been on the rise under first-year head coach Dwayne Dubois and staff, including picking up a pair of wins over state-ranked Class 3A teams in Kirbyville and Newton.

Bridge City bounced back nicely after they dropped a tight 19-14 decision at the hands of the Lumberton Raiders last week.

The Cardinal offensive line paved the way early and often against the Panthers (2-2) Friday night while the Big Red defense stymied the Liberty offensive attack throughout the night.

The Cardinals piled up 307 yards alone in the first half as they cruised out to a commanding 27-0 lead at intermission.

Bridge City struck for three of their touchdowns in the game’s first 12 minutes.

Running back Patrick Morris finished off a nice drive when he tore through the Liberty secondary for a 35 yard scoring jaunt. Alfredo Heraldes booted the first of three extra points of the night to give the Cardinals a 7-0 edge.

Quarterback Camden Dubois was able to help push the lead to 14-0 when he darted into the end zone from 11 yards out.

Tailback Cayce Draper capped off another drive when he scored on a one-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.

The Cardinals outgained the Panthers 174-1 in the first quarter alone.

The Cardinals opened up their air arsenal in the second quarter when Dubois teamed up with Draper on a 55-yard pitch-and-catch to push the lead to 27-0.

The Cardinals forced the Panthers into three turnovers and held them to just 71 first-half yards.

Bridge City had two fumble recoveries and another interception from Zach Honeycutt.

The Panthers got on the board in the third quarter to trim the Cardinal lead to 20 points.

Draper had a huge 68-yard run to help set up a one-yard touchdown run by Derrick Dearing. Morris ran in the two-point conversion run.

The Cardinals will look to begin a playoff push next week when they play host to the Cleveland Indians.