Wildcats roll Baldwin to pick up third straight victory

Louisburg linebacker Ashton Moore (right) brings down Baldwin quarterback Jack Harvey with the help of teammates Brayden Yoder and Wyatt Holland on Friday in Baldwin City.

BALDWIN CITY — From the the opening kickoff, everything went the way of Louisburg.

Louisburg quarterback Declan Battle went over 100 yards rushing in the first half and added four touchdowns to his already impressive early season start.

Junior running back Ashton Moore did the same as he added three touchdowns. The Wildcats also had a chance to empty their bench as everyone contributed in their 62-7 win over the Bulldogs on Friday at Baker University.

Add in a dominant performance by the Wildcat defense that forced three turnovers, and it was smooth sailing for Louisburg as it improved its record to 3-0 on the season.

“I was happy to see us come out and play well early,” Louisburg coach Drew Harding said. “We talked about taking advantage of the opportunity that was in front of us and making the most of that opportunity, and I thought they came out early and did exactly that. Started with a turnover defensively right away and that got the offense moving.”

Louisburg’s defense set the tone early with a stop on Baldwin’s opening possession on an interception by senior Hunter Heinrich. The Wildcats forced a couple more turnovers on fumble recoveries by Brady Hickey and Garrison Bloustine, in what turned into a rainy content between the two teams.

Moore and Hickey were in attack mode from the start on defense. Moore finished with a team-high 13 tackles. Hickey finished with 10 to go along with a forced fumble and fumble recovery.

Hickey added to his already strong start to his season that includes two interceptions and a sack.

“Defense played well overall,” Harding said. “We preached turnovers to them this week and we forced three so that was good to see. There were times that we would like to see a little more urgency in not giving up a couple first downs before getting the ball back.  

“Brady and Ashton have both been playing well.  They are both solid tacklers and pursue the football really well. We need them to continue to playing well as we move forward in the season.”

Offensively, Battle once again led the Wildcats from under center. The dual-threat quarterback amassed 133 yards rushing on just five carries and threw for another 128, before ending his night early with four touchdowns.

Moore went on to record 109 yards of total offense to go along with his three scores. Junior running back Darby Van Eaton came off the bench in the second half to finish with 120 yards rushing, including a 69-yard touchdown run to ice the game.

A lot of that offense was thanks to the offensive line, including starters Ben O’Bryan, Miles Meek, Jaymes Melton, Brayden Yoder and Johnny Hendrickson.

“Offensively we had a lot of big plays,” Harding said. “I think up front we did a good job opening up some holes and then our skill players were able to make plays after that. I thought we were pretty effective in the passing game as well.  Declan and Ashton played well. They didn’t have a ton of touches but were effective with the touches they got.”

After Heinrich’s interception to open the game, Battle and the offense responded when he broke free for a 65-yard touchdown run. Later in the first quarter, Moore took a little shovel pass from Battle that resulted in a 10-yard score.

The Wildcats put up three more scores in the second quarter, including a 50-yard run from Battle, a 1-yard plunge from Moore and a 10-yard touchdown pass from Battle to Blake Amren. After all that, Louisburg took a 34-0 lead into halftime.

Louisburg nearly doubled that in the second half.  Moore broke free for a 61-yard touchdown, then backup quarterback Alex Saad found the endzone on 13 and 15-yard runs.

From there, Harding was able to empty his bench as every player on the roster earned varsity minutes.

“That was awesome and probably my favorite part of the game,” Harding said. “Those guys work hard all week and provide the first team with a scout look. So for them to get rewarded with Friday night playing time was awesome.  When they were in there they played well both offensively and defensively, and we had lots of guys making plays.”

Louisburg will try to make it four straight wins to start the season this Friday when the Wildcats travel to Bonner Springs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

LOU 12 22 20 8 — 62

BAL 0 0 7 0 — 7

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

L: Declan Battle 65 run (kick failed)

L: Ashton Moore 10 pass from Battle (kick failed)

Second quarter

L: Battle 50 run ( Moore run)

L: Moore 1 run (Moore run)

L: Blake Amren 10 pass from Battle (kick failed)

Third quarter

L: Moore 61 run (kick failed)

B: Jack Harvey 64 run (kick good)

L: Alex Saad 13 run (Saad run)

L: Saad 15 run (2-point failed)

Fourth quarter

L: Darby Van Eaton 69 run (Rickey Giles run)

STATISTICS 

RUSHING — Declan Battle 5-133; Darby Van Eaton 7-120; Ashton Moore 5-74; Alex Saad 4-24

PASSING — Declan Battle 7-8-128; Alex Saad 4-5-50

RECEIVING — Conlee Hovey 2-71; Ashton Moore 3-35; Brock Vohs 1-29; Caden Caplinger 1-17; Myles Vohs 1-16; Blake Amren 1-10; Declan Battle 1-0.

TACKLES — Ashton Moore 13, Brady Hickey 10, Wyatt Holland 9, Brayden Yoder, 7, Darby Van Eaton 6, Caden Caplinger 6, Lucas Swartz 5, Conlee Hovey 4, Jack Anderson 4, Russell Wiseman 3, Jimmy DeVary 3, Declan Battle 2, Logan Henry 2, Jackson Howard 2, Drake Crooks 2, Josh Holtzen 1, Hunter Heinrich 1, Reid McCaskill 1, Brody McGreer 1, Martin Alicea Soto 1, Nate Capuro 1, Miles Meek 1, Wyatt Crooks 1

SACK — Jack Anderson 1

INTERCEPTION – Hunter Heinrich 1

FORCED FUMBLE — Ashton Moore 1, Brady Hickey 1, Conlee Hovey 1

FUMBLE RECOVERY — Brady Hickey 1, Garrison Bloustine 1