The Rockets ended their winning streak of four matches with a thorough defeat of the Cardinals, 39 to 24, in regular-season play on Saturday night. By then the visitors had built something of a reputation for themselves, and this result added another chapter to it.
The Cardinals came into the fixture looking rather different from their recent form. They had lost to the Golden Flashers and the Flames in successive weeks, and before that secured a 41-17 victory over the Wolfz. And here's the thing — you would not have guessed from their last outing against the Buckyz, where they were outscored 56 to 3.
The Rockets, meanwhile, arrived in confident mood. They had beaten the Asteki 41-16, the Owls 49-48, the Blue Devils 63-10, and the Spartans 30-20 in their four previous meetings. To be fair, such a run tends to make opponents nervous, and the Cardinals appeared to know it before the opening whistle.
The final score told a simple story. The Rockets controlled the tempo from the outset and never let up, while the Cardinals struggled to find any rhythm beyond occasional bursts. The visitors turned it around after the break, and the hosts never really recovered their composure.
By then the gap had grown too wide to bridge. The Rockets closed the game out with authority, and the Cardinals were left to reflect on a performance that lacked the sharpness they showed earlier in the season.
