Louisburg senior Ben Minster looks to get a block during a kick return against Paola on Friday during Senior Night at Wildcat Stadium. Minster was one of 10 Louisburg seniors that were honored before the game.

The Louisburg High School football team found itself one win away from making the state playoffs for the third straight season.

Leave it to rival Paola to dash those hopes.

On Senior Night in Louisburg, the Wildcats couldn’t stop the Panther offense as Paola put together two long drives in the second half to pull away for a 34-12 win over Louisburg. The loss ended Louisburg’s season with a 6-3 record.

The defeat also meant the Wildcats had to say goodbye to their 10 seniors: Will Ridley, Garrett Lowry, Matt Holloway, Christian Tosterud, Mitchell Drew, Will Smith, Gillin Newell, Desmond Doles, Ben Minster and Alec Maler.

“I am proud of our kids,” Louisburg coach Robert Ebenstein said. “They have fought all year and they grew a lot. I am happy for our seniors that were able to continue to grow as a family and as a team. I am also proud of the younger kids to support them in their efforts as seniors.

“Sometimes we put too much emphasis on certain parts of the game and there are a lot of ins and outs and stuff that doesn’t show on the scoreboard that nobody sees, so I really think our kids grew a lot.”

Louisburg got on the board first as it put together an 82-yard drive that resulted in a 6-yard touchdown run by junior Austin Moore. Although the extra point failed, the Wildcats still held a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Senior Garrett Lowry makes a stop at the line of scrimmage Friday.

Paola answered quickly to start the second quarter on a 58-yard touchdown pass and then scored on a short touchdown run after the Panthers recovered a Louisburg fumble. Despite all that, the Wildcats trailed just 13-6 at halftime.

Penalties hurt the Wildcats through much of the game as they were flagged eight times for 97 yards, which ended up stalling many of the Louisburg drives. The Wildcats also turned the ball over twice.

“It seemed like every play that was more than 2 yards came back because of a penalty,” Ebenstein said. “Sometimes you just don’t get the breaks and you have to find a way to make your own. Our kids hung tough, and it was a one possession game at half, but that third quarter was a killer.”

The third quarter was a rough one for Louisburg.

Paola opened the second half on a seven-minute drive that went nearly 80 yards and ended on another short touchdown run. The Wildcats got the ball back, but went three and out, only to see the Panthers put together another six minute drive that went 60 yards and got another touchdown.

Charlie Koontz makes a tackle on a Paola running back Friday at Wildcat Stadium.

“We only ran like three offensive plays in the third and one of them was my fault because it was relayed in wrong,” Ebenstein said. “Coach (Mike) Dumpert and the rest of the Paola staff are great coaches and they are going to find what works and go to it. Defensively, I think there was a point where we had four sophomores on the field and two of our seniors starters were out on defense due to an injury. We had some holes exposed, but hats off to Paola and they played well.”

Louisburg snapped its scoring drought in the fourth quarter when quarterback Madden Rutherford found Doles for a 32-yard touchdown pass. Paola answered one more time with a touchdown scoring drive to seal the win and end the Wildcats’ season.

It was an up and down year for the Wildcats, but Ebenstein, who is in his first year as head coach, saw a lot of growth from his team.

“Whether I am a head coach, or an assistant coach, I am going to do whatever I can for these kids and I just hope at the end of the day they grow as a family,” Ebenstein said. “Before the game, I told them to just go play a perfect game. A lot of people think of a perfect game is doing everything right. I just wanted them to lay it all out there. I think our kids did everything they could. The scoreboard doesn’t show a perfect game, but I don’t think any of the kids left anything in the tank.”

LOU               6             0             0             6 – 12

PAO               0             13           7             14 – 34

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

L: Austin Moore 6 run (kick failed)

Second quarter

P: Brandon Wilkes 58 pass from Kurt Golubski (kick blocked)

P: Colton Gleghorn 4 run (Ryan Wokutch kick)

Third quarter

P: Gleghorn 5 run (Wokutch kick)

P: Drew Smith 3 run (Wokutch kick)

Fourth quarter

L: Desmond Doles 32 pass from Madden Rutherford (kick failed)

P: Golubski 1 run (Wokutch kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING – Will Ridley 9-38, Austin Moore 7-18, Blue Caplinger 1-16, Madden Rutherford 5-7. Totals: 22-79

PASSING – Madden Rutherford 6-14-133

RECEIVING – Ben Minster 4-95, Desmond Doles 2-38

TACKLES – Austin Moore 10, Charlie Koontz 9, Brayden Gage 5, Kohl Vogel 5, Will Ridley 5, Kiefer Tucker 5, Garrett Harding 5, Garrett Lowry 4, Desmond Doles 3, Blue Caplinger 2, Brayden White 2, Jorge Lebron 1, Noah Larson 1, Will Smith 1, Gillin Newell 1, Matt Holloway 1.

Louisburg linemen Matt Holloway (left) and Kiefer Tucker open a running lane for quarterback Madden Rutherford on Friday in Ottawa. The Wildcat offensive line helped pave the way for 372 yards on the ground, including a 228-yard and five touchdown performance from junior running back Austin Moore in their 42-19 win over Ottawa.

OTTAWA – Following the district opening loss to Fort Scott, the Louisburg football team knew there was little room for error.

Another setback would make it difficult for the Wildcats to advance to the Class 4A-Division 1 state playoffs, as the top two teams in each district get in. That is why Friday’s contest against Ottawa was as close to a must-win as Louisburg has had all season.

The pressure didn’t seem to faze the Wildcats as they opened the game with a pair of touchdowns and didn’t look back in a 42-19 victory at Ottawa High School. The win put Louisburg at 1-1 in district play and 6-2 on the season.

“It was a really big win,” Louisburg coach Robert Ebenstein said. “We preached all week that we needed to even out our district record and everything we did was with that in mind. We had a great week of practice, played really well and gave ourselves a chance for next week. I am very excited.”

Louisburg set the tone offensively as it scored on its first two possessions of the game and the Wildcats were able to run the ball right at Ottawa. The Wildcats amassed 372 yards rushing, with a lot of those coming from one back.

Junior running back Austin Moore had a big performance for Louisburg as he carried the ball 28 times for 223 yards and five touchdowns.

The Wildcats were able to control the line of scrimmage as Noah Larson, Matt Holloway, Kiefer Tucker, Garrett Lowry, Garrett Harding and Brayden White opened up a lot of holes for Moore, as did backs Blue Caplinger and Will Ridley.

“Austin ran hard, but I think there was probably four or five times where I don’t think anyone touched him until he was like five or six yards deep,” Ebenstein said. “That offensive line, along with Will and Blue getting in there, they are getting better at blocking every single week. They are finding those linebackers, putting their head on the right side, turning their butts and just sealing a wall. As an offensive unit, they were really sharp out there.”

Louisburg’s offense opened it up early when quarterback Madden Rutherford connected with Desmond Doles for a 26-yard pass, which helped set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Moore.

Senior tight end Christian Tosterud finds a lot of running room during the first half of Friday’s game in Ottawa.

Moore then recovered an Ottawa fumble on the Cyclones’ first possession and the Wildcats turned that into points as Rutherford scored on a 45-yard touchdown run. Moore then ran in the 2-point conversion and the Wildcats had a quick 15-0 lead.

The Wildcats’ confidence came through late in the second quarter. When faced with a fourth and goal at the 4, Louisburg went for it and Moore ended up scoring on a 4-yard run to give Louisburg a 22-7 halftime lead.

“When we were down there, I wanted to just try and draw them offsides, but I had two linemen tell me no and they just wanted to go on ‘Set’ and just go at them,” Ebenstein said. “When those guys are feeling it like that, you just go with it.”

Defensively, the Wildcats were able to slow the Ottawa offense at times with several backups playing starting roles. Louisburg was able to force the Cyclones into three turnovers, including fumble recoveries by Moore and Tucker, a forced fumble by Ridley and an interception by Brayden Gage.

Christian Tosterud and Ridley each led Louisburg with nine tackles on the night.

“I thought we played pretty well all the way around,” Ebenstein said. “Defensively, we had two new safeties in, a new linebacker in and then we have Christian (Tosteurd) get hurt. We have new guys in and out against a team that wants to throw the ball, can throw it and has athletes, so I thought we did OK. They did well for their first time getting out there.”

Defensive backs Kohl Vogel (left) and Brayden Gage break up a pass in the endzone Friday against Ottawa.

Moore continued his string of touchdowns in the second half as he scored on runs on 21, 15 and 34 yards to help put the game away.

The victory sets up an elimination game with rival Paola this Friday in Louisburg. Fort Scott, which has beaten Louisburg and Paola, has already wrapped up the district title, leaving one spot left.

That spot will go to the winner of the rivalry matchup, which is also Senior Night in Louisburg. The two teams were in the same scenario last season when the Wildcats went on the road to knock off Paola.

“This is what you play high school football for – Louisburg/Paola, last game of the year, Senior Night and a chance to go to the playoffs – that is good stuff,” Ebenstein said. “We will be excited and ready to go for sure. I know Paola will be as well. We were in the same situation last year, and we got the better end of it, so I am sure Paola remembers that and will be ready. It is going to be a lot of fun.”

LOU               15           7             6             14 – 42

OTT               0             7             6             6 – 19

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

L: Austin Moore 6 run (Drake Varns kick)

L: Madden Rutherford 45 run (Moore run)

Second quarter

O: Kennontae Savage 8 pass from Kaleb Shaffer (kick good)

L: Moore 4 run (Varns kick)

Third quarter

L: Moore 21 run (kick failed)

O: Savage 5 pass from Shaffer (kick failed)

Fourth quarter

L: Moore 15 run (Varns kick)

O: Elias White 29 pass from Shaffer (run failed)

L: Moore 34 run (Varns kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING – Austin Moore 28-223, Madden Rutherford 10-100, Charlie Koontz 3-16, Will Ridley 4-13, Brayden Gage 2-11, Blue Caplinger 2-9. Totals: 49-372

PASSING – Madden Rutherford 4-6-83

RECEIVING – Desmond Doles 2-32, Christian Tosterud 1-30, Blue Caplinger 1-21

TACKLES – Christian Tosterud 9, Will Ridley 9, Blue Caplinger 7, Brayden Gage 6, Austin Moore 4, Kiefer Tucker 4, Jorge Lebron 3, Garrett Harding 3, Garrett Lowry 3, Kohl Vogel 2, Michael Waldron 2, Tanner Belcher 2, Noah Larson 2, Will Smith 2, Desmond Doles 2, Alec Maler 1, Beckett Rasmussen 1.

Louisburg quarterback Madden Rutherford gets the ball just over the outstretched arms of a Fort Scott lineman Friday in Fort Scott. Rutherford threw for two touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 42-20 loss to the Tigers.

FORT SCOTT – The Louisburg High School football team began a brand new season Friday when it opened district playoffs at Fort Scott.

The Wildcats didn’t get off to the start it wanted.

Fort Scott broke open the game in the second half as it scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter and Louisburg couldn’t catch up in a 42-20 loss.

Louisburg (5-2) couldn’t contain Fort Scott running back Zarek Fewell as the elusive Tiger back finished the game with 214 yards and five touchdowns.

“They just beat us up front,” Louisburg coach Robert Ebenstein said. “They were more physical, they made big plays, we had some guys go down and our depth kind of got exposed. We just have to get better, and we will, but there is some stuff that we definitely need to fix.”

Turnovers and big plays from Fort Scott were the Achilles heel for the Wildcats as two of the Tigers’ touchdowns runs went for 60 and 56 yards. Fort Scott also had an 81-yard pass play that set up another touchdown in the first half.

In the third quarter, turnovers haunted Louisburg as it threw an interception and then fumbled the kickoff that allowed Fort Scott to go in for another score.

“The first third down of the second half, we line up wrong formation wise and we have to punt,” Ebenstein said. “Then we throw an interception. Then we drop a kickoff and it just kind of steamrolled from there.”

Louisburg lineman Garrett Harding brings down Fort Scott’s Zarek Fewell with the help of linebacker Austin Moore on Friday in Fort Scott.

Fewell started the game with a big play for Fort Scott. After the Wildcats were forced to punt on the game’s opening possession, Fewell broke free for a 60-yard touchdown run on the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage.

The Wildcats were able to answer right back as quarterback Madden Rutherford broke free for a 27-yard run that set up as 12-yard touchdown pass from Rutherford to Austin Moore.

Late in the first quarter, Fort Scott quarterback Jesse Jones found receiver Gunnar Brown for an 81-yard pass play that set up another Fewell touchdown. The Tigers got the lead back, but the Wildcats responded as Moore broke free for a 20-yard run on their next drive, which set up a 1-yard touchdown run from Moore, but the extra point was no good.

Fort Scott took a 21-13 lead at halftime, but the Wildcats were still within striking distance. However, penalties and turnovers cost Louisburg and the Tigers were able to capitalize with three consecutive touchdowns.

Moore led Louisburg on the ground with 100 yards rushing, while Rutherford had 89 yards through the air to go along with two touchdowns, including a 30-yard touchdown pass to Desmond Doles to end the game.

Senior Christian Tosterud was all over the field for the Louisburg defense as he led the Wildcats with 10 tackles on the night. Noah Larson and Will Ridley each had a sack and Doles had a fumble recovery in the first half.

Louisburg will try and keep its playoff hopes alive this Friday when it travels to Ottawa. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The Wildcats’ final district game is at home against Paola next week and they will need to win the next two games to have a strong chance at the postseason.

“Ottawa and Paola are both great teams, and they are going to be big games,” Ebenstein said. “We have to get to work and get better.”

LOU               7             6             0             7 – 20

FS                   14           7             21           0 – 42

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

F: Zarek Fewell 60 run (kick good)

L: Austin Moore 12 pass from Madden Rutherford (Drake Varns kick)

F: Fewell 9 run (kick good)

Second quarter

L: Moore 1 run (kick failed)

L: Fewell 7 run (kick good)

Third quarter:

F: Fewell 56 run (Kick good)

F: Matt Campbell 28 pass from Jesse Jones (kick good)

F: Fewell 5 run (kick good)

Fourth quarter

L: Desmond Doles 30 pass from Rutherford (Varns kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING – Austin Moore 13-100, Madden Rutherford 8-49, Will Ridley 5-20, Ben Minster 1-3, Blue Caplinger 3-(minus) 2. Totals: 30-170.

PASSING – Madden Rutherford 6-14-89

RECEIVING – Desmond Doles 2-45, Austin Moore 2-16, Blue Caplinger 1-13, Brayden Gage 2-10, Ben Minster 1-5.

TACKLES – Christian Tosterud 10, Austin Moore 5, Brayden Gage 4, Will Ridley 4, Michael Waldron 4, Noah Larson 4, Blue Caplinger 3, Mitchell Drew 2, Garrett Harding 2, Garrett Lowry 2, Madden Rutherford 1, Josh Casey 1, Kohl Vogel 1, Kiefer Tucker 1, Will Smith 1, Desmond Doles 1.

Louisburg running back Austin Moore gets a block from receiver Desmond Doles for a big run Friday at Wildcat Stadium. The Wildcats defeated Spring Hill 33-0 in their homecoming game and Moore carried the ball for 274 yards with three touchdowns.

It would have been an easy for members of the Louisburg High School football team to lose focus with everything going on around them.

The game ended what was a busy homecoming week and the Wildcats took an emotional stance when they joined Spring Hill in coming out of the locker room and standing for the national anthem – something they normally stay inside for.

Despite all that, concentration wasn’t a problem for Louisburg as it recorded its second consecutive shutout with a 33-0 victory over Spring Hill on Friday and improved its record to 5-1 on the season.

“I was very impressed with our kids focus,” Louisburg coach Robert Ebenstein said. “We have grown a lot this season and we are still getting better. With everything going on this week, and the atmosphere of the game, our kids kept their heads and just played football.”

Football took a back seat for a few minutes and both teams stood in the back of the endzone together to stand during the national anthem. Earlier in the week, Ebenstein brought up an idea to his team of coming out of the locker room for the anthem and he asked the Spring Hill coaches if they would like to join together.

Ebenstein got a quick response from the Bronco staff and the two teams united, even if it was just for a few moments.

“This was something that we saw as an opportunity to teach our kids about how grateful we are to even get the opportunity to play this great game,” Ebenstein said “We know that our society is not perfect, but paying our respects to the people who have laid the foundation for this country is something that is important to us.  So after a unanimous decision as a team, it was something we wanted to do.

“I reached out to (assistant) Coach (Tucker) Woofter from Spring Hill who I know through the wrestling community, and who is a great guy and competitor. I told Tucker it was something we were thinking about and offered to extend the invitation to them. He spoke with (head) Coach (Jason) Feeback, and called me back the next day and said it was something they would love to do as well. So we shuffled some things around and decided to come out for the national anthem for just this game.”

Members of the Louisburg and Spring Hill football teams stood together in the endzone for the national anthem.

On the football field, the Wildcats made a statement as well.

Ebenstein reinforced the message with his team earlier in the week to be physical up front offensively and the Wildcats appeared to have gotten the message. Louisburg’s offensive line of Garrett Lowry, Garrett Harding, Noah Larson, Kiefer Tucker and Brayden White paved the way for 353 yards on the ground, with a bulk of those yard coming on the legs of junior running back Austin Moore.

Moore made it difficult on the Spring Hill defense as he carried the ball 31 times for 274 yards and three touchdowns as he reeled off several big runs. Fellow backs Blue Caplinger and Will Ridley also opened some holes for Moore.

“Offensively, I challenged our team to be the most physical they had been all season and we did a great job blocking up front as well as on the perimeter,” Ebenstein said. “Austin obviously ran very well, but the down field blocking by Will and Blue was the best of the season thus far.”

The Wildcats were just as strong defensively as they played with a bend, but don’t break mentality. Although Spring Hill drove the ball down the field on a couple different occasions, the Wildcat defense came up with big plays as it forced two first half fumbles, preventing a score.

Louisburg held Spring Hill to 168 yards of total offense and made the stops when it needed to.

“Spring Hill found some things that were working, but we were able to shut down the inside run game and trap game,” Ebenstein said. “They found a little room on the edges with zone read stuff, but ultimately the shutout is something to be very proud of. Coach (Jeff) Lohse again had a great plan. I was very pleased with some of the kids who got into the game with nearly five minutes left and were able to keep the shutout. That is very impressive.”

Kris Light and Chloe Philgreen were crowned fall homecoming king and queen before Friday’s contest at Wildcat Stadium.

After a slow start, the Wildcats got on the scoreboard late in the first quarter with the help of its defense.

Tucker recovered a Spring Hill fumble on the Bronco 10-yard line and the Wildcats answered on the next play with a Caplinger 10-yard touchdown run.

Midway through the second quarter, the Wildcat defense turned the Bronco defense over on downs at midfield and Louisburg drove down the field and ended with a 1-yard touchdown by Moore.

Late in the first half, Louisburg rose to the occasion on defense once again. Caplinger recovered a fumble on the Louisburg 7-yard line as it appeared the Broncos were going in for a score.

Moore reeled off a 57-yard run to go into Spring Hill territory, then followed it up with a 21-yard touchdown run. After a Drake Varns extra point, the Wildcats took a 19-0 halftime lead.

Moore added a 20-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and the Wildcat defense sealed the win with their third turnover of the night. Desmond Doles intercepted a Spring Hill pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown.

“I was pretty pleased with our play,” Ebenstein said. “We made some mental mistakes early in the game on offense, which we need to get cleaned up. We left some points on the field with a turnover on downs inside the 10 yard line, as well as a fumble inside the 5. With districts approaching, these are mistakes we need to take care of and get cleaned up. Defensively we gave up some yards, but locked in on big downs and were able to get off the field.”

Lineman Kiefer Tucker pressures the Spring Hill quarterback in Friday’s shutout of the Broncos.

After winning five of its first six games to start the season, the Wildcats will put that behind them as they begin district play Friday at Fort Scott. The top two teams in each district will advance to the Class 4A playoffs.

“Going into districts at 5-1, and winning the last three games with two shutouts, is a great way to go into districts,” Ebenstein said. “But at this point everyone in 4A is 0-0 and we have a tough Fort Scott team this week, so we will need to be ready to go.”

LOU               6             13           0             14 – 33

SH                  0             0             0             0 – 0

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

L: Blue Caplinger 10 run (kick failed)

Second quarter

L: Austin Moore 1 run (2-point conversion failed)

L: Moore 21 run (Drake Varns kick)

Fourth quarter

L: Moore 20 run (Varns kick)

L: Desmond Doles 40 interception return (Varns kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING – Austin Moore 31-274, Will Ridley 6-43, Blue Caplinger 3-34, Madden Rutherford 4-8, Brayden Gage 1-(-3). Totals: 45-353.

PASSING – Madden Rutherford 1-5-16

RECEIVING – Ben Minster 1-16

TACKLES – Austin Moore 7, Christian Tosterud 7, Will Ridley 5, Garrett Harding 4, Noah Larson 4, Blue Caplinger 2, Mitchell Drew 2, Garrett Lowry 2, Desmond Doles 2, Ben Minster 1, Josh Casey 1, Brayden Gage 1, Beckett Rasmussen 1, Michael Waldron 1, Tanner Belcher 1, James Foote 1, Will Smith 1, Jonathan DePriest 1.

Tuesday was “Dress Like Your Dad” day and all eight Louisburg High School fall homecoming candidates gave it their best shot. The candidates are (front row, from left) Mikayla Quinn, Reilly Alexander, Chloe Philgreen, Sophie McMullen; (back row) Desmond Doles, Garrett Lowry, Kris Light and Christian Tosterud. 

Homecoming week at Louisburg High School kicked off Monday and events are in full swing. With something going on every day this week, it will be a busy time for students. All of it is, of course, centered around the crowning of the 2017 fall king and queen. Eight students were selected as nominees and here are their names and profiles.

The crowning will take place on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium before kickoff of Louisburg’s game with Spring Hill.

Desmond Doles and Mikayla Quinn

Desmond Doles 

Desmond is the son of Bryan and Desiree Doles. He has participated in basketball for four years, choir for four years and football for three years. After graduation, Desmond plans to go to college at Emporia State University and major in exercise science or biology and then transfer to the University of Kansas to get his doctorate in physical therapy.

Mikayla Quinn

Mikayla is the daughter of Danny and Mary Quinn. She has participated in volleyball, basketball, track, band, choir and musicals for four years. She has been a part of debate and National Honor Society for two years and student council for one year. After graduation, Mikayla plans to go to Kansas State University to study pre-occupational therapy and major in social science.

Reilly Alexander and Garrett Lowry

Garrett Lowry

Garrett is the son of Shawn and Kristine Lowry. He has participated in football for four years, basketball for three years, track for two years and FFA for one year. After graduation, Garrett plans to attending a welding trade school.

Reilly Alexander

Reilly is the daughter of Steven and Amy Alexander. She has participated in Leo’s Club and track for four years. She has been a part of cross country, volleyball, choir and been a boys basketball manager for two years, along with one year of debate, musical and Spanish Club. After graduation, Reilly plans to attend the University of Kansas to major in pre-law.

Kris Light and Chloe Philgreen

Kris Light

Kris is the son of Greg and Carla Light. He has participated in soccer and track and for three years, basketball and debate for two years and student council for one year. After graduation, Kris plans to attend college and study engineering.

Chloe Philgreen

Chloe is the daughter of Topher and April Philgreen. She has participated in select choir, musicals, band and student council for four years. She has been a part of FCA and forensics for three years, Spanish Club and National Honors Society for two years and Leo’s Club for one. After graduation, Chloe plans to study public relations or strategic communications with a minor in vocal performance.

Christian Tosterud and Sophie McMullen

Christian Tosterud

Christian is the son of Chris and Maribel Tosterud. He has participated in football for four years, baseball for three years, basketball, debate and Spanish Club for two years and mixed choir for one year. After graduation, Christian plans to attend Kansas State University to pursue a degree in computer science with an emphasis in computer software engineering.

Sophie McMullen

Sophie is the daughter of Scott and Sarah McMullen. She has participated in volleyball and FFA for four years, track for three years, Spanish Club for two years and LEO’s club for one year. After graduation, Sophie plans to attend Northwest Missouri State University on a volleyball scholarship and will study elementary and special education.

Louisburg running back Will Ridley tries for a few extra yards during Friday’s game against Baldwin. The Wildcats held Baldwin to under 100 yards of offense and rolled to a 34-0 win. 

BALDWIN CITY – ‘Play hard for four quarters’ is a phrase most football coaches use to try to motivate their team in hopes of trying to get the best out of them.

The Louisburg football team took that to heart Friday when it faced off with Baldwin. Unlike the week prior, where the Wildcats struggled with energy, turnovers and penalties – and still won in the final seconds against Eudora – they took care of all the mistakes.

Louisburg got off to a fast start and never looked back in a 34-0 shutout of the Bulldogs in Baldwin City. It was a game where the Wildcats made plays in all three phases.

“This past week was our best week of practice so far and I think it showed,” Louisburg coach Robert Ebenstein said. “We were focused, we put in some new things, they picked it up and it was high energy all week. Our goal this week was just to have high energy throughout the entire game and during practice, and if you looked at us out there, we flew around and made a lot of plays. They played great.”

The Wildcat defense frustrated Baldwin for much of the game and the Bulldogs never made a real threat on the endzone. Louisburg held Baldwin to just 74 yards of total offense and were active for most of the night.

Junior linebacker Austin Moore had a big game on both sides of the ball, but defensively he was all over the field as he led the team with 12 tackles. Senior defensive back Christian Tosterud had 10 tackles and senior linebacker Mitchell Drew finished with nine.

Defensive ends Noah Larson and Kiefer Tucker caused havoc in the Bulldog backfield and put pressure on the Baldwin offense. Defensive backs Blue Caplinger and Desmond Doles each had an interception.

Louisburg’s Noah Larson grabs a hold of a Baldwin player’s jersey as teammate Mitchell Drew (33) makes the tackle Friday in Baldwin CIty.

“Our kids up front are pretty quick,” Ebenstein said. “I don’t know if Baldwin underestimated how quick our defensive ends are, but they can fly. We have two athletic kids playing d-end that are in great shape and they get after it and really move.

“I think us running the same offense as Baldwin helped a little bit because we have seen it for a few weeks now. But (defensive coordinator) Jeff Lohse is as underrated as anybody in the entire league when it comes to football. He scouted them up, he knew exactly what he wanted to do and he hammered it into our players all week. He did a great job with those guys.”

Offensively, the Wildcats (4-1) were just as sharp as they ran the ball at the Bulldogs and never let up as they totaled 319 yards on the ground. Louisburg jumped out to a three touchdown lead in the first half and didn’t look back.

A lot of those yards came thanks to the legs of Moore and quarterback Madden Rutherford. Moore finished with game with 141 yards on the ground to go along with two touchdowns.

Rutherford, a sophomore, made his fair share of big plays as well. He scored a game-high three touchdowns, including two on the ground. Running backs Will Ridley and Caplinger also reeled off big runs to keep the Louisburg drives going.

Blue Caplinger gets out in front to make a block on a Baldwin player for teammate Brayden Gage.

The Wildcats were able to make those plays thanks to the offensive line Garrett Lowry, Garrett Harding, Larson, Tucker and Brayden White, along with tight ends Ben Minster and Tosterud.

“Our line was doing a great job of making holes up front and reaching to the linebackers,” Rutherford said. “It allowed Austin to do what he does and he played great.

“We switched up formations a little bit, and went under center a little more, but we are celebrating each play more and we are playing with high energy. That was definitely a key factor for us.”

Moore opened the game with a 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and it was all the points the Wildcats would need. Rutherford expanded that lead in the second quarter when he hit Minster for a 9-yard touchdown pass and then scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak shortly before halftime.

“It was really impressive for us,” Moore said of the shutout. “We came out with a lot more intensity than we have in the past and I think it showed. Offensively we played a lot better than we did the week before and we were trying to pick each other up after every run.”

Moore added an 11-yard score in the fourth quarter, and with six minutes left in the game, Rutherford juked a Baldwin defender and broke free for a 49-yard touchdown to seal the win.

“What we were really preaching to them to was to play well in all three phases for four quarters,” Ebenstein said. “So being able to score points early is really big for us and we just built on that from there.”

The Wildcats will try and make it three wins in a row Friday when they host Spring Hill for homecoming. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., as Louisburg tries to exact revenge after losing to Spring Hill in the final seconds a year ago.

“We are really excited for homecoming week and everything that is involved with that,” Moore said. “We are definitely ready to play Spring Hill again.”

LOU               7             14           0             13 – 34

BAL                0             0             0             0 – 0

SCORING SUMMARY:

First quarter

L: Austin Moore 12 run (Drake Varns kick good)

Second quarter

L: Ben Minster 9 pass from Madden Rutherford (kick failed)

L: Rutherford 1 run (Austin Moore run)

Fourth quarter

L: Moore 11 run (kick failed)

L: Rutherford 49 run (Varns kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING – Austin Moore 20-141; Will Ridley 7-75; Madden Rutherford 6-64; Blue Caplinger 2-39. Totals: 35-319.

PASSING – Madden Rutherford 2-10-15-1

RECEIVING – Ben Minster 1-9, Desmond Doles 1-6

TACKLES – Austin Moore 12, Christian Tosterud 10, Mitchell Drew 9, Noah Larson 7, Brayden Gage 5, Will Ridley 4, Kiefer Tucker 4, Blue Caplinger 3, Kohl Vogel 3, Michael Waldron 3, Garrett Harding 3, Will Smith 3, Brayden White 2, Jorge Lebron 2, Beckett Rasmussen 1, Garrett Lowry 1, Matt Holloway 1, Desmond Doles 1.

Louisburg junior Brayden Gage outruns the Eudora defense for a big gain Friday at Eudora High School. The Wildcats got a late touchdown to pull out a 14-7 victory and they are now 3-1 on the season.

EUDORA – In a tie game with 17 seconds left in regulation, Louisburg’s Desmond Doles broke the huddle with his Wildcat teammates.

As he lined up on the outside, Doles kept hearing the words of his coach, Robert Ebenstein, over and over again in his mind.

“Coach just told me to calm down, catch the ball and use my big strides to get into the endzone,” Doles said.

Doles did exactly that.

He caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Madden Rutherford and gave the Wildcats a 14-7 win over Eudora on Friday at Eudora High School. It was the second time Doles connected with Rutherford for a score.

“They had nine in the box sometimes with cover 1 over the receivers and you have to make to those plays and Desmond made them,” Ebenstein said. “Madden put the ball where it needed to go, and that is what you hope for when you play in this offense. You hope for 1-on-1’s and winning those matchups and we won two.”

The game-winning score brought a lot of joy to the Wildcat sidelines, but a little relief as well as Louisburg overcame three turnovers and two blocked punts to pull out a big road win that pushed its record to 3-1 on the season.

Desmond Doles (left) celebrates with teammate Garrett Lowry after Doles scored the game-winning touchdown in the Wildcats’ 14-7 victory.

On two different occasions, the Wildcats had a chance to put some distance between themselves and Eudora, but fumbled twice inside the redzone and another time while trying to receive a punt.

Still, the Wildcats fought through all that and came up with big stops on defense, including late in the fourth quarter when they forced Eudora to punt deep in their own territory to set up the game-winning score.

“At times it looked we were trying to give it away,” Ebenstein said. “We turned it over twice inside our 10, we had two blocked punts and we had another punt go off our helmet. For our kids to come together in the fourth quarter, move the ball and then stop them – I am proud of them for that. We are in week four, so we aren’t young anymore, but I am proud of the growth they are showing. For a young team to buckle down and make those plays, those are signs of good things to come.”

Louisburg began the contest on a strong note as Rutherford connected with Doles on a slant pass and turned it into a 40-yard touchdown early in the first quarter. As good as the opening drive was, the Wildcats struggled to get going offensively for much of the first half.

Defensively, however, the Wildcats were stingy and held Eudora out of the endzone until late in the second quarter. Louisburg fumbled the snap on a punt and Eudora recovered to take the ball on the Wildcat 20-yard line.

With 48 seconds left in the first half, Eudora quarterback Alex Brown found Elijah Kennedy for a 17-yard touchdown pass and the game was tied at 7-all at halftime.

Eudora’s defense continued to make it hard on the Wildcat offense in the second half. The Cardinals played with nine players in the box at times, and made it difficult on the Wildcat running attack. Still, Austin Moore reeled off some big runs for the Wildcats as he finished 97 yards on the ground on 21 carries.

Quarterback Madden Rutherford hits an open receiver thanks to protection from lineman Brayden White (left) and running back Austin Moore.

“On film this year, they have only shown a 4-3, and in the past they have always been a 4-3 defense, but they came out in a 3-man front, with two outside backers and two safeties over the top and it surprised us a little,” Ebenstein said. “I knew they were going to be ready to go and coach (Phil) Katzenmeier has them ready to go, and well-coached teams like that are tough to beat.”

The Louisburg defense made it tough on Eudora as well. The Wildcats forced four turnovers as Garrett Harding, Kohl Vogel and Will Ridley each recovered a fumble and Blue Caplinger intercepted a pass early in the third quarter.

Doles was also active defensively as he recorded a team-high 11 tackles, while fellow defensive back Christian Tosterud had nine tackles and a forced fumble. Lineman Garrett Lowry added seven stops on the night.

Junior Noah Larson brings down Eudora quarterback Alex Brown for a loss Friday in Eudora.

Late in the fourth quarter, Louisburg put one of its best drives together offensively as it moved the ball down to the 1-yard line with under four minutes left in the contest, but fumbled the snap.

The Wildcat defense held once again and forced a Eudora punt, which led to the game-winning drive and Doles’ touchdown catch.

“Coach just said that it was going to be a backside hitch and that I needed to catch it,” Doles said. “That has been a big emphasis for me because I have dropped some of those in the past.

“It was a very good win. We needed a good bounce back win after what happened last week. When it came down to it, we did our best and it showed on the scoreboard.”

Louisburg will try and make it two in a row this Friday when it travels to Baldwin. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

LOU               7             0             0             7 – 14

EUD               0             7             0             0 – 7

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

L: Desmond Doles 40 pass from Madden Rutherford (Drake Varns kick)

Second quarter

E: Elijah Kennedy 17 pass from Alex Brown (Kick good)

Fourth quarter

L: Doles 11 pass from Rutherford (Varns kick)

STATISTICS

RUSHING – Austin Moore 26-97; Madden Rutherford 11-25. Totals: 37-122

PASSING – Madden Rutherford 6-14-137-2

RECEIVING – Brayden Gage 2-68; Desmond Doles 2-51; Austin Moore 2-18

TACKLES – Desmond Doles 11, Christian Tosterud 9, Garrett Lowry 7, Mitchell Drew 5, Blue Caplinger 4, Austin Moore 4, Kiefer Tucker 4, Garrett Harding 4, Noah Larson 4, Will Ridley 3, Brayden Gage 2, Kohl Vogel 1, Michael Waldron 1.

High school football fans across Kansas got a new look at the football classifications when the Kansas High School Activities Association released them Tuesday morning.

Those fans also got to look at what the new classification system will look like. As it pertains to Louisburg, Class 4A will only have 32 schools for the next two years in football, compared to 48 teams this season and will mirror the Class 6A and 5A playoff format.

Louisburg announced an enrollment of 407 students, while the largest school in 4A is Pittsburg with 618 students and moved down from Class 5A. Goddard also moved down from 5A to 4A and has an enrollment of 613.

Area schools, such as Osawatomie and Prairie View, made a big move thanks to the new classification system as both programs dropped down to 3A.

Bishop Miege, which has won the last three state championships, is also still a 4A school with 524 students.

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Players from the 1997 Louisburg High School football state runner-up team posed for a quick photo last Friday after being honored before the crowd at Wildcat Stadium.

Several members from the Louisburg High School 1997 state runner-up football team returned home Friday – home being Wildcat Stadium.

As they entered through the gate, emotions came flooding back. They remembered the packed stadium, the thrill of playing football on Friday nights and all the history they created together.

“The longer I have been here the more it has meant because more memories come back,” Jason Worthington, a lineman from the 1997 team, said. “You forget some of this stuff until the sights and smells come back in. I stepped in the locker room, and the coach (Robert Ebenstein) was gracious enough to come let us talk to the team, and it was just a wave of emotions coming back. They may be 20 years old, but they feel like they are brand new.”

The 1997 team received many ovations from the crowd that year as it was the first squad in school history to reach the state championship game.

A lot of those players came back to Wildcat Stadium to be recognized one more time as they were introduced to the home football crowd at halftime of last Friday’s game with De Soto to commemorate the 20th anniversary of that state runner-up finish.

“It is pretty exciting,” Sari Antisdel said. “We were in the locker room before the game. To have those same exact feelings as you had 20 years ago, I mean we are old men now and to see the crowd and be a part of this whole experience has been fun. It is pretty impressive to see what has changed with the football program since all those years ago.”

Antisdel, who was a starting fullback and linebacker as a senior, was among several players who returned to be honored from that historic Wildcat team. He was surrounded by former teammates and coaches, who all had a chance to relive the ‘good-ole days’ during the first half of Friday’s contest.

“I haven’t seen a lot of these guys in 15-20 years,” Antisdel said. “I recognize some of the faces, but it was good to see them again. Even some of the freshmen off that team – I asked one of them what their name was again and he told me and he said ‘Yeah, I remember your thigh pad a lot running over me.’ They were just as much of the team as anyone because we needed them for practice and helping us to get better.”

Louisburg rolled through much of the regular season with wins over Eudora (54-0), Anderson County (40-7), Wellsville (22-20), Gardner (28-0), Prairie View (30-6), Osawatomie (33-7), Baldwin (64-6), Paola (22-0) and Spring Hill (33-8).

The 1997 season was a memorable one for many. Not only was it the school’s first appearance in the state championship game, but it was also filled with many unforgettable games along the way and it started in the playoffs.

In that season, Louisburg opened with a 40-0 win over Prairie View in bi-districts, before facing the defending state champion – Fort Scott – in the regional round.

The Wildcats pulled a shocker as they knocked off the Tigers 13-6 to earn a regional title and a spot in the sub-state championship game.

“I think my favorite win during that time was probably Fort Scott,” Antisdel said. “They were the best team and beating them was pretty impressive. We were a tight knit group that thrived on every play from getting turnovers or kickoffs. We tried to take advantage of every single down.”

Kevin Vohs (left) and Sari Antisdel look out onto the crowd while they were being honored as part of the 1997 state runner-up team.

Louisburg did that same thing in its sub-state matchup with Topeka Hayden, which was ranked No. 1 at the time. It was memorable in more ways than one.

The game was played in sub-zero temperatures and Louisburg forced eight turnovers on the night as it pulled off a second-consecutive upset with a 21-14 victory.

“My favorite memory is just how tough that team was,” said Gary Griffin, a former head coach and defensive coordinator on the 1997 team. “We beat Fort Scott, which was the defending state champion, and came back and beat the No. 1 team in the state in Topeka Hayden and both them were better than us, but we were just tougher. We found ways to win games and it was a good bunch of kids. Coach (Kris) Kehl got them to buy in to the team concept and we had three really good classes in a row. The sophomore class helped us out quite a bit, but the senior class was as good of leaders as we have ever had.

“It was the coldest game I have ever been at. Their running back was really good and he didn’t have sleeves on and I will never forget that. It was so cold that we had space heaters on the sidelines. He platooned with another guy and he had to have been cold. We probably forced him to fumble three or four times.”

The Wildcats were considered a ‘tough’ running team that found a lot of success behind a veteran offensive line of Worthington, Ben Coffey, Aaron Cain, Chad Hardesty, Trevor Finch and tight end Joe Pate.

A pair of sophomore running backs, Billy Neff and Phillip Bowden, saw a lot of time in the backfield and were led by Antisdel – a senior fullback. Jason Harwood was the team’s starting quarterback, while Nate Peters, Jeremy Heston, Kevin Vohs and Ben York saw time at wide receiver.

“Our 152-pound wrestler, Chad Hardesty, was our starting center and nose guard and played both sides of the ball and was all-league,” Worthington said. “I don’t know that we were all that big, but we had a lot of experience. Most of us on that line, we had played together since our sophomore year so we gelled really well.  Then we had some young guys like Billy and Phillip come up and were great running backs for us and got some great leadership from Sari back there as well. We always tried to be good leaders to help some of that young talent that we had and those guys had some great years in their own right.”

Defensively, the Wildcats were led by much of those same players on the defensive line, while Neff, Bowden and Antisdel put on a lot of hits at linebacker.

“Our offensive stats that year were really low, but the reason being was we won the field position battle a lot,” Coffey said, who was also an all-league lineman. “Our defense did a great job and our offense started on our opponents side of the field a lot. The fabric of our team was we just grew up together starting in elementary school and had a great senior class. We didn’t have the best athletes in the state, but as a unit, we were right there.”

(From left) Ben Coffey, Ryan Dunn, Jason Worthington and Chad Hardesty were just a few of several players from the 1997 team that made school history and were honored last Friday at Wildcat Stadium.

Then came the state championship game against Sabetha that was held at Emporia State University. Louisburg came up short in its quest to get the school’s first state championship as it fell, 14-13, and ended its season with a 12-1 record.

Sabetha opened the game with a 69-yard touchdown run and then blocked a Louisburg punt in the endzone to jump out to a 14-0 lead. The Wildcats came roaring back as Neff scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the lead in half in the second quarter.

In the third, Harwood found Peters for a 20-yard touchdown, but the Wildcats missed the extra point. Each team committed three turnovers on the day.

“We missed an extra point that we all thought was good,” Griffin said. “They had college goal posts, which were narrower than high school ones, and on a high school field it would have been good for sure. We just ran out of time at the end. Of all the playoffs games that we played, Sabetha was probably the worst team of the bunch and that is probably what hurt us worse than anything is we knew we were a better team when we left the field. We just left one out there.

“It was pretty disheartening, but no one expected us to be as good as we were. We surprised everyone. We got no accolades in the preseason, and as the season went along, we just steamrolled people and caught Fort Scott and Hayden on good nights.”

Despite the loss, the state championship game is still a fond memory for a lot of the Wildcat players.

“It was very foreign,” Coffey said. “We were traveling to the middle of the state and playing on a university campus in the afternoon. It was different for us. We were really giddy and nervous on the bus on the way up there and we couldn’t believe we were here.

“We were just smashing heads with everyone. It seemed like we were in the middle of the field the whole game and neither team could move. It felt like the team that made the most mistakes that day would lose. They just made one less mistake than we did.”

It was a time the Wildcats coaches wouldn’t forget either.

“That put Louisburg on the map,” Griffin said. “We had a good run. I think we were 8-1 the next year and 9-0 after that. Year after year we would have great seasons and that 97 team was the team that kind of propelled us. That is when we turned into a football town. The whole town of Louisburg was at Emporia. We would fill the stadium several years after that and it was a good time.”

Several of the players know that a lot of their success was in part to head coach Kris Kehl, who molded the group of Wildcat players together and changed the culture of Louisburg football.

“I give so much credit to coach Kehl,” Worthington said. “He was one of the most intense guys that I have worked with, whether it was in high school or college. I remember that state game, him grabbing me by the face mask and yelling at me to ‘Protect your (bleeping) quarterback Worthington,’ and seeing Copenhagen fly at my face at the time. There are few people I respect more in life than coach Kehl.”

Antisdel added, “I think our eighth grade year we only won like one football game. When Kehl started when I was a sophomore, he kind of set the tone for what the program was going to become. He wanted it to be a 365 day type of deal, whether it was with weights or whatever. Our goal was to win state and we came close.”

Those were just some of the celebrated times that were shared on a special night at Wildcat Stadium – a place where history was made 20 years ago.

“The memories I shared with everyone means a lot,” Coffey said. “If anything, I hope it allowed the younger guys and the other classes to know what needed to be done. From there, it just built a heck of a run with this sport and others. Everyone went their own separate ways after that season, and that season is the most common thing that we have and that is kind of cool.”

Members of 1997 football team are:

Class of 1998: Jeremy Heston, Jeremy Criswell, Josh Meek, Jason Worthington, Ben Coffey, Chad Hardesty, Trevor Finch, Eric Nauman, Nate Peters, Ryan Shaffer, Joe Klassen, Micah Drake and Sari Antisdel.

Class of 1999: Jon Batchelder, Luke Siebenmorgen, Jason Harwood, Kevin Vohs, Ben York, Justin Kesterson, Troy Meek, Patrick Page, Ryan Kuepper, Matthew Trapp, Aaron Cain, Joe Pate, Brad Torrence and Adam Longgood.

Class of 2000: Bret Marks, Tyler Witt, Matthew Donegan, Dustin Bollinger, Thomas Overly, Ryan Dunn, Ian David Hall, Jeremiah Brittingham, James Ward, Grant Hash, Billy Neff, Andrew Shaffer, Dereck M Kerr, Phillip Bowden, Darin Hollrah, Cooper Smith, Craig Hufferd.

Class of 2001: Troy McKitrick, David Alexander, Bradey Ewy, Ian Hansberger, Monte Harwood, Andy Donegan, Jared Dorsch, Kurt Nauman, Ryan German, Eddy Monteil, Eric Pemberton, Noah Hoppe, Mitch Langley, Matt Sauber, Jeremy Oehlert, Winston Koechner, Brian Batchelder and Jeremy Yeager.

Head coach Kris Kehl and assistant coaches Gary Griffin, Wayne Whiting, Darin Gagnebin, Doug Elias and Mike Krull.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

SABETHA 14, LOUISBURG 13

S:      7             7             0             0 – 14

L:      0             7             6             0 – 13

First quarter

S: Jason Hartter 69 run (kick good)

Second quarter

S: Adam Pyle recovered blocked punt in endzone (kick good)

L: Billy Neff 1 run (Sari Antisdel kick)

Third quarter

L: Nate Peters 20 pass from Jason Harwood (kick failed)

STATISTICS

RUSHING: Sari Antisdel 14-56; Billy Neff 9-32; Jason Harwood 10-16; Nate Peters 2-9; Phillip Bowden 2-6. Totals: 37-119

PASSING: Harwood 8-17-121

RECEIVING: Peters 3-63; Kevin Vohs 2-25; Antisdel 2-6; Ben York 1-27

Louisburg senior Garrett Lowry stuffs a De Soto running back at the line of scrimmage during Friday’s contest in Louisburg. De Soto shutout the Wildcats 41-0 to hand them their first loss of the season.

From the very first snap of the game, it was obvious that it wasn’t going to be the night the Louisburg High School football team wanted.

In a battle of undefeated teams, De Soto came into Wildcat Stadium on Friday and showed why it is the No. 3 team in Class 4A-Division I.

De Soto forced a fumble on the opening play and returned it for a touchdown. It wouldn’t get much better for Louisburg after that.

The Wildcats had a tough time slowing down the De Soto offense in a 41-0 loss in Louisburg.

“De Soto is very good,” Louisburg coach Robert Ebenstein said. “They are very aggressive and they play tough. They have great coaches and there is no doubt that they beat us in all three phases. They played very well and they are a good team.”

The De Soto defense made it difficult on the Wildcat offense to get anything going. De Soto held Louisburg to just 53 yards of total offense and the Wildcats had a hard time approaching the redzone.

De Soto played with three linemen on the line of scrimmage and used their four linebackers to blitz from all different directions, making it difficult for the Louisburg offensive line to pick up protections.

“We knew that is what they were going to do, they just did it very well,” Ebenstein said. “It is something that we really can’t mimic in practice with their size and speed. Their three down linemen were very impressive kids, their outside linebackers are solid and their inside linebackers read well. They are overall just a sound team.”

Louisburg’s Noah Larson hits De Soto quarterback Bryce Mohl just as he releases the ball Friday.

On the other side of the ball, the Wildcats had a difficult time slowing down the De Soto offense as it scored 21 points in the first quarter and then added another touchdown to start the second.

Louisburg’s defense turned away De Soto two different times in the second quarter when Matt Holloway recovered a fumble near the goal line and Desmond Doles intercepted a pass shortly before halftime. Brayden Gage also intercepted a pass later in the contest.

“When you go down 28-0 early in the second quarter, that is tough,” Ebenstein said. “We shut them out the rest of the quarter, but it is one of those things where we have young players, and young coaches, and we have to figure it out. I am glad it happened now and we can learn from it, instead of just surviving and then not figuring it out later.

“We have plenty of room to grow and this is the first time a lot of these kids have experienced something like this, so it will be interesting to see how we respond. I don’t doubt their effort. We played hard, but De Soto is just very good. I am not sure we are quite there yet, but there is a lot of season left and a lot of time to get better.”

Senior running back Will Ridley looks for some running room Friday against De Soto.

Austin Moore led the Louisburg defense with six tackles on the night from the middle linebacker spot and sophomore lineman Garrett Harding was next with four stops.

Louisburg will try and get back on track this Friday when it travels to Eudora for its first of two-straight road contests. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

DES                21           7             13           0 – 41

LOU               0             0             0             0 – 0

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

D: Brayden Brummer 18 fumble return (Ethan Rodriguez kick)

D: Bryce Mohl 29 run (kick good)

D: Connor Strouse 32 pass from Mohl (kick good)

Second quarter

D: Mohl 11 run (kick good)

Third quarter

D: Trevor Watts 40 run (kick good)

D: Leo Oplotnik 1 run (kick failed)

STATISTICS

RUSHING – Austin Moore 14-24; Madden Rutherford 5-3; Blue Caplinger 2-minus 2; Brayden Gage 2-minus 10. Total: 23-15

PASSING: Madden Rutherford 9-20-38

RECEIVING: Desmond Doles 3-29; Brayden Gage 1-4; Ben Minster 1-4; Will Ridley 2-3; Austin Moore 2-minus 2.

TACKLES: Austin Moore 6, Garrett Harding 4, Christian Tosterud 3, Will Ridley 3, Desmond Doles 3, Mitchell Drew 2, Kiefer Tucker 2, Noah Larson 2, Will Smith 2, Garrett Lowry 2, Brayden White 2, Blue Caplinger 1, Matt Holloway 1.