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Wildcats beat Eudora in defensive battle

Andy Brown / Louisburg Sports Zone
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Louisburg running back Ben Wiedenmann breaks a tackle during a game earlier this season. Wiedenmann rushed for 171 yards in the Wildcats’ win over Eudora last Friday.


EUDORA – Just like the previous week, the Louisburg football team was forced to prepare for its upcoming game short-handed.

The Wildcats didn’t have a scout team to work with during practice in an effort to prepare for their game with Eudora, as much of the team was still under quarantine. The big difference was most of those players were able to play Friday against Cardinals.

It turned out to a big help for the Wildcats as they pulled out a 14-8 win over Eudora on Friday at Eudora High School. Louisburg converted the game-winning score midway through the fourth quarter and the Wildcat defense turned Eudora over on downs on its final possession.

“I am very proud of these kids,” Louisburg coach Robert Ebenstein said. “They bought in to our identity, they strap it up and play tough football for four quarters. Any Frontier League game is tough, especially on the road.”

It was a defensive battle, and a fast-moving game, from the start as both teams tried looked to run the ball early and often.

The game was scoreless until the second quarter when Eudora quarterback Zeke Reazin threw for a 22-yard touchdown pass on fourth down. The Cardinals converted the 2-point conversion and took an 8-0 lead.

Louisburg (3-2) was able to bounce back on its next possession. Quarterback Weston Guetterman found the endzone on a 10-yard run and then ran in the 2-point conversion to tie the game at halftime.

Both defenses made things difficult as the Wildcats held Eudora to just 151 yards of total offense, while Louisburg was unable to get anything going through the air. The game came down to the final two possessions.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Wildcats put together a 12-play drive that ended on a 1-yard run from Ben Wiedenmann. It was Wiedenmann that carried the load for Louisburg as he ran the ball 11 of the 12 plays.

Wiedenmann finished with 171 yards on 32 carries, while Guetterman carried the ball 13 times for 89 yards.

The offensive line of Alec Younggren, Dominic Owens, JR Rooney, Nathan Vincent and Jay Scollin, along with tight end Aiden Barker, helped pave the way. Running backs Andy Hupp and Kolby Kattau also found themselves in the front of a lot of those runs as well.

“We have been searching for our identity up front all year, and we found something that gave us success all night on the ground,” Ebenstein said. “Our running backs, Hupp and Kattau, did a great job blocking all night long as well and Weston and Ben were running hard.  All those things combined gave us a 7 yard average per play on the ground.”

Eudora had one final opportunity to tie or take the lead late in the game, but the Wildcat defense came through and forced a turnover on downs with two minutes left. Louisburg was able to run out the clock from there.

“Defensively we played tough and smart all night,” Ebenstein said. “We again had to prepare most all of the week without a scout team, so the speed they were running their flexbone hit us quick on that first drive, then on fourth down they threw a simple slant and we missed a couple tackles and gave them their only score. Still, our defensive backs shut them down in the air pretty much all game.”

Guetterman led the Wildcat defense with six tackles on the night, including two stops for a loss. Sophomore Jase Hovey, Kattau and Barker each finished the night with five stops, while Hupp, Wiedenmann and Scollin tallied four tackles. 

Louisburg was scheduled to play Bonner Springs this Friday at home, but Bonner Springs is currently under quarantine and the school is in the process of trying to find a replacement for the game. Louisburg Sports Zone will keep you up to date with any changes to the schedule.

LOU               0             8             0             6 – 14

EUD               0             8             0             0 – 8

SCORING SUMMARY

Second quarter

E: Zeke Reazin 22 pass (2-point conversion good)

L: Weston Guetterman 10 run (Guetterman run)

Fourth quarter

L: Ben Wiedenmann 1 run (2-point failed)

STATISTICS

RUSHING – Ben Wiedenmann 32-171, Weston Guetterman 13-89, Kolby Kattau 5-9, Andy Hupp 2-7.

TACKLES – Weston Guetterman 6, Aiden Barker 5, Jase Hovey 5, Kolby Kattau 5, Ben Wiedenmann 4, Andy Hupp 4, Jay Scollin 4, Justin Collins 3, Konnor Vohs 2, Alec Younggren 1, JR Rooney 1.