Photos by Sasha Duck, Hermleigh school photographer

The Hermleigh Cardinals completed a 10-0 regular season Oct. 29 by beating preseason favorite Ira 66-48 for the District 7-1A Division I football championship. With a bye Nov. 5, the Cardinals could sit back and soak up the spoils of victory.

Or maybe not.

“It was like ‘Congratulations, you’re the district champions. As a reward, you get to play the state champions in bidistrict,’ ” Hermleigh head coach Sam Winters said.

Sterling City won the Class 1A Division I state championship last year. But the Eagles were upset by Westbrook this year and finished second in District 8-1A DI, creating the bidistrict matchup with Hermleigh. It’s a rematch of last year’s bidistrict game won 61-12 by Sterling City.