Battle scores 5 touchdowns, defense gets shutout as Wildcats roll Ottawa

Louisburg seniors Caden Caplinger (left) and Brock Vohs combine on a tackle as the helmet flies off of an Ottawa player Friday at Wildcat Stadium

This one had all the elements of a trap game for Louisburg.

It was Senior Night for the Wildcats, and on top of that, the players were out of school for the day. Louisburg had just come off an emotional road win over Tonganoxie and have a big showdown with Spring Hill on the horizon.

Sandwiched in-between that Friday was Ottawa as the Wildcats tried to avoid the upset and continue their perfect season.

Any thoughts of a letdown quickly went out the window as the Wildcats scored 20 unanswered points in the first half and cruised to a 33-0 victory over Ottawa.

“It was a really weird schedule with not having school and it being Senior Night, so as a coach it makes you a little nervous as the guys are out of their normal routines,” Louisburg coach Drew Harding said. “For them to come out and play well is a testament to the kids and they got back into the routine. Overall, I am very happy with how they did.

“Ottawa is team on the rise. They have played a lot of teams close, beat Eudora and have some good wins. We preached that we couldn’t overlook them and I don’t think that we did. We came out and played pretty well.”

It also marked the final regular season home contest for 14 Wildcat seniors that included Declan Battle, Hunter Heinrich, Blake Amren, Brody McGreer, Brady Hickey, Lane Cunningham, Wyatt Holland, Jack Anderson, Caden Caplinger, Jaymes Melton, Jackson Howard, Ben O’Bryan, Drake Crooks and Brock Vohs.

Battle put on quite the show on Senior Night. The Louisburg quarterback accounted for all five  Wildcat touchdowns that included three on the ground and two more through the air.

He finished with 165 yards rushing on just 12 carries. Battle also threw for 133 yards.

The Wildcats (7-0) struck early and it started with Battle. On Louisburg’s first play from scrimmage, Battle broke free on a 74-yard touchdown run, and after an Alex Saad extra point, went up 7-0.

Ottawa had to punt on its next possession, and the Wildcats took advantage. Battle found a wide open Reid McCaskill for a 38-yard touchdown pass to go up 13-0.

The Cyclones threatened to cut the Wildcat lead in half as they had 2nd and Goal from the 2-yard line. Junior lineman Brayden Yoder stopped the Cyclones for a loss, and then Wyatt Holland and Jack Anderson did the same on third down.

Louisburg turned Ottawa over on downs after Ashton Moore and Holland converged on a stop.

That defensive stop turned into another Wildcat touchdown on a 5-yard run from Battle and Louisburg took a 20-0 lead at halftime.

The Wildcats continued the onslaught in the second half as Battle scored on a 35-yard run in the third quarter. Louisburg iced the win when Battle found Myles Vohs in the back of the endzone on a 7-yard touchdown pass. 

It was the first touchdown of the season for Vohs and McCaskill as the junior wide receivers came up with big scores for Louisburg.

“That was really great to see them get in the endzone,” Harding said. “Those are guys that have worked hard all year, and for them to step up and make a couple big plays for us was fun to see. Our receiver group is capable of producing more than what we have recently, so it was nice to take a step in that direction.”

The Wildcat defense put together another strong performance as they got the shutout thanks to several big plays throughout the night.

Moore led the Wildcats with 17 tackles and also forced two fumbles. Holland also finished with double digit tackles with 10 and had a fumble recovery.

Caden Caplinger finished with seven stops and also had 1.5 sacks, while Brady Hickey, Jackson Howard and Brock Vohs each had five tackles.

“Our keys were not to give up any big plays and we didn’t really give up any,” Harding said. “We wanted to play our base stuff, read our keys and just fly to the football. I thought we did a really good job of that. It generally just wasn’t one person making the tackle, it was multiple guys. We forced some turnovers as well, so we just checked all those boxes.”

The Wildcats will face their biggest challenge to date this Friday as they travel to Spring Hill for their final regular season contest. Both teams have an undefeated record in Frontier League play and the winner will capture the league title.

“It will be a dogfight for sure,” Harding said. “Last year we played a close game with them with the Frontier League title on the line, so this year we have to go up there and they have a really explosive offense with a really good running back. We will have to be on our game to come out of there with a win and it will be a big time challenge.”

LOU 13 7 6 7 — 33

OTT 0 0 0 0 — 0

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

L: Declan Battle 74 run (Alex Saad kick)

L: Reid McCaskill 38 pass from Battle (kick failed)

Second Quarter

L: Battle 5 run (Saad kick)

Third Quarter

L: Battle 35 run (kick failed)

Fourth Quarter

L: Myles Vohs 7 pass from Battle (Saad kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING — Declan Battle 12-165; Ashton Moore 13-97; Darby Van Eaton 5-24; Lane Cunningham 1-7

PASSING — Declan Battle 12-18-133

RECEIVING — Reid McCaskill 1-38; Caden Caplinger 1-32; Ashton Moore 5-30; Myles Vohs 2-16; Conlee Hovey 1-9; Hunter Heinrich 1-7; Brock Vohs 1-1.

TACKLES — Ashton Moore 17, Wyatt Holland 10, Caden Caplinger 7, Brady Hickey 5, Jackson Howard 5, Brock Vohs 5, Russell Wiseman 4, Brayden Yoder 4, Brody McGreer 3, Lucas Swartz 3, Declan Battle 2, Logan Henry 2, Myles Vohs 2, Jack Anderson 2, Josh Holtzen 1, Conlee Hovey 1, Erik Lien 1

SACKS — Caden Caplinger 1.5; Jack Anderson .5

FORCED FUMBLE — Ashton Moore 2

FUMBLE RECOVERY — Wyatt Holland 1

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