#HSFT19 Stop #16 — Belmont Cardinals

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BELMONT, Miss. (WCBI) — The eight-season wait for a playoff victory for the Belmont Cardinals came to an end in 2018. The Cardinals upsetting the higher-seeded Choctaw County.

Now that this group of players has experienced the feeling of playoff success, they’re hungry for more.

“I’d definitely say it gives us a lot of hope, because we’ve already done it once, we can definitely do it twice,” said senior linebacker and tailback Hunter Borgstrom.

“It definitely takes a lot to win a playoff game, but if we work as hard as we did last year, I think we’ll be able to.”

The Cardinals will need to replace a lot of production, mainly in the secondary and replacing 1,200 yards rushing and 120 tackles from Parker Bolton.

New guys will need to step up, but Belmont will be able to rely on returning starters in the trenches, as well as another season with dual threat QB Garrett Rooker under center.

“I expect to hopefully lead this team better than I did last year, and be more successful than we were last year,” Rooker said.

Playoff appearances are tradition in Belmont, the Cardinals playing into November in 15 of the last 17 seasons.

This group of seniors believes a deep playoff run is coming up next.

“These past couple of years, we’ve gotten a lot closer,” senior lineman Mason Thompson said.

“We’ve had winning seasons, and getting better, and I think we’re on the right track this year.”

Belmont kicks off 2019 with a home matchup against the Smithville Seminoles.