Saad’s five touchdowns lead Wildcats in rout of Bonner Springs

Louisburg was hoping to get out to a quick start against Bonner Springs during Friday’s homecoming game and the Wildcats didn’t disappoint — quarterback Alex Saad made sure of it.

Saad threw five touchdowns passes, and the Wildcats scored 49 unanswered points, in their 57-8v rout of the Braves at Wildcat Stadium.

Louisburg moved its record to 4-0 on the season as the Wildcats continue their perfect start in the Frontier League. 

“We were striving to play a more complete football game after last week and I think we took some steps to approach that goal,” Louisburg coach Drew Harding said. “It was a fun night for sure.”

Saad got in on a lot of that fun as he threw touchdown passes to four different receivers and had his best night of the young season. 

The senior quarterback was nearly perfect as he completed 11 of 12 passes for 211 yards to go along with the five scores. 

“Alex did a really good job,” Harding said. “He is really, really talented. We challenged him to make sure that his feet are set, and when he does that, he generally delivers a really good ball. I think that kind of showed out there against Bonner. He was able to do some stuff in the RPO’s that make it kind of tough on a defense. He had a great game.”

Louisburg got out to a quick start as the Wildcats scored on their opening possession that ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by Ashton Moore. It would be the first of seven unanswered scores.

Saad threw his first touchdown on the next possession as he found tight end Erik Lien wide open in the endzone for a 5-yard scored. 

Senior wideout Myles Vohs was the recipient of Saad’s next two touchdowns. Vohs beat the Bonner Springs secondary for a 27-yard score to put the Wildcats up 21-0 late in the first quarter.

Then in the second quarter, Vohs made a leaping catch at the goal line for a 10-yard score. Vohs finished the game with five catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. 

“That really was an emphasis for us this week was to get off to a good start,” Harding said. “We kind of slept-walked through the first half last week and I think we came out and got two or three stops scored on two of our first three drives offensively. We did a much better job starting the game off.”

Right before halftime, the Wildcats struck again. Saad found a wide open Reid McCaskill for a 45-yard touchdown. 

Senior Conlee Hovey recorded a touchdown from Saad to begin the third quarter, and the reserves got a chance to come in and play the rest of the game. 

Backup quarterback Max Amren replaced Saad and scored two touchdowns, including one on a 42-yard pass to Tate McGreer.

The Wildcat defense was dominant from the opening snap as it allowed just the one score in the fourth quarter.

Moore and senior Brayden Yoder each led the way with seven tackles each and Hovey finished with four. Lucas Swartz and Jimmy DeVary each recorded a sack, while Yoder had two tackles for a loss.

“We challenged our defense to play a complete game and we got better for sure,” Harding said. “We did a good job of being assignment sound and being focused the entire game.”

Louisburg will now find themselves away from home for three straight weeks, and that begins this Friday in an important league matchup against Eudora. 

“Eudora is always really well-coached with good athletes, so it will definitely be a challenge,” Harding said. “They run a flex-bone offense that they are good at running. It has been low-scoring games against them for the last three or four years, so it has always been a battle and I am sure this next one will be as well.”

LOU 21 14 7 15 — 57

BON 0 0 0 8 — 8

SCORING SUMMARY 

First Quarter

L: Ashton Moore 7 run (Blaise Vohs kick)

L: Erik Lien 5 pass from Alex Saad (Vohs kick)

L: Myles Vohs 27 pass from Saad (B. Vohs kick)

Second Quarter

L: M. Vohs 10 pass from Saad (B. Vohs kick)

L: Reid McCaskill 45 pass from Saad (B. Vohs kick)

Third Quarter

L: Conlee Hovey 3 pass from Saad (B. Vohs kick)

L: Tate McGreer 42 pass from Max Amren (B. Vohs kick)

Fourth Quarter

B: Kyle Blanz 5 run (run good)

L: Amren 26 run (Freddy Moreau run)

STATISTICS

RUSHING — Ashton Moore 9-79; Darby Van Eaton 9-52; Max Amren 2-21; Cole Heinrich 2-20; Freddy Moreau 2-14; Bryce Thompson 1-8; Grant Bloustine 1-3

PASSING — Alex Saad 11-12-211; Max Amren 1-1-42

RECEIVING — Myles Vohs 5-113; Conlee Hovey 4-48; Reid McCaskill 1-45; Tate McGreer 1-42; Erik Lien 1-5

TACKLES — Ashton Moore 7, Brayden Yoder 7, Conlee Hovey 4, Russell Wiseman 3, Lucas Swartz 3, Erik Lien 3, Logan Henry 2, Bryce Thompson 2, Jimmy DeVary 2, Miles Meek 2, Tate McGreer 2, Rickey Giles 1, Eil Roth 1, Darby Van Eaton 1, Noah Kush 1, Aidan Meyer 1, Tanner Labrie 1, Gaston Schleicher 1, Johnny Hendrickson 1

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