Wildcats pick up easy homecoming win over Ottawa

Louisburg’s (from left) Jay Scollin, Konnor Vohs (11) and Aiden Barker (54) celebrate JR Rooney’s touchdown in the third quarter of Friday’s 35-7 win over Ottawa.

From the start, it was obvious it was going to be Louisburg’s night.

Louisburg, which celebrated fall homecoming Friday against Ottawa, had everything go its way in its final regular season home contest. Whether it was a score on their opening possession, a touchdown by two different linemen, or an impressive defensive performance, the Wildcats made for a memorable homecoming night.

The Wildcats scored 35 unanswered points to start the game and never looked back in a 35-7 victory at Wildcat Stadium. The win improved Louisburg’s record to 4-3 on the season as it gets ready for its final regular season contest.

“It was a good win for sure, especially with it being homecoming week, not having school Monday and coming off a loss,” Louisburg coach Robert Ebenstein said. “We put a week’s worth of practice together and we came out and did what we anticipated and hoped we could do. It was good to see them execute.”

Louisburg had it going from their opening drive as quarterback Weston Guetterman broke free for a 27-yard run to put the Wildcats up 6-0 in the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, the Wildcats all but put the game away as they scored three touchdowns. Justin Collins and Ben Wiedenmann recorded back-to-back 25-yard runs to begin the quarter and then Wiedenmann ended the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run. Guetterman ran in the 2-point conversion to put Louisburg up 14-0.

On the Wildcats’ next possession, Wiedenmann answered the bell again as he broke free for a 59-yard touchdown. For the game, Wiedenmann carried the ball just seven times, but had 112 yards to go with his two touchdowns.

It was the defense’s turn to find the endzone as junior lineman Aiden Barker picked off an Ottawa pass and ran it back for a 20-yard touchdown to put Louisburg up 28-0 after a Layne Ryals extra point.

The lineman touchdowns continued in the second half. Louisburg had the ball on the 2-yard line, but Guetterman fumbled the snap that went into the endzone and center JR Rooney jumped on the ball for the touchdown and a 35-0 Louisburg advantage.

“I wanted to yell at JR because I thought the snap was his fault that we fumbled it, but Weston took the blame for it, so he gets to be happy with his touchdown,” Ebenstein said.

Louisburg’s defense caused Ottawa problems most of the night as the Wildcats held the Cyclones to just 69 yards of total offense, most of which came in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore safety Jase Hovey had a big game as he recorded one of three Louisburg interceptions on the night, along with a sack, a forced fumble and two tackles for a loss.

Barker and Wiedenmann accounted for the other two interceptions, while Barker also added a sack to his stat line.

“They were playing with a lot of energy and were really flying around out there and hitting people,” Ebenstein said. “The air was brisk out there, it is mid-October and it is time to fly around and it was good to see them have fun out there.”

Louisburg will wind down its regular season this Friday when it travels to Paola for their annual rivalry showdown. It will be a difficult test for the Wildcats as Paola is currently ranked in the top two in many of the Class 4A rankings.

“Paola and Louisburg is old school,” Ebenstein said. “It really doesn’t matter what the records are. Both schools have had good teams over the years and it seems like we have gone back and forth as far as wins go the last few times. It will be a lot of fun and I am excited for the kids to get that game.”

LOU               6             22           7             0 – 35

OTT               0             0             0             7 – 7

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

L: Weston Guetterman 27 run (kick failed)

Second quarter

L: Ben Wiedenmann 8 run (Guetterman run)

L: Wiedenmann 59 run (Layne Ryals kick)

L: Aiden Barker 20 interception return (Ryals kick)

Third quarter

L: JR Rooney 0 fumble recovery (Ryals kick)

Fourth quarter

O: Wyatt Sink 2 run (Reese Fogle kick)

LOUISBURG STATISTICS

RUSHING – Ben Wiedenmann 7-112; Weston Guetterman 11-98; Justin Collins 3-26; Andy Hupp 2-10; Carson Wade 2-5.

PASSING – Riley Van Eaton 1-2-6

RECEIVING – Mason Dobbins 1-6

TACKLES – Ben Wiedenmann 3, Andy Hupp 3, Nathan Vincent 3, Carson Wade 2, Jase Hovey 2, Layne Ryals 2, Aiden Barker 2, Alec Younggren 2, JR Rooney 2, Isaiah Whitley 1, Konnor Vohs 1, Kaven Bartlett 1, Tom Koontz 1, Dominic Owens 1, Jay Scollin 1.

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