The Ell-Saline Cardinal football squad picked up its second-consecutive victory Friday evening, taking down the Inman Teutons 50-20 on homecoming night in Brookville.
Ell-Saline (4-1) caught an early break to begin the scoring. Senior quarterback Nick Davenport helped guide the Cardinals down the field, but on the ninth play of the drive, fumbled at the goal line. The ball took a Cardinal bounce, hitting the turf and kicking right into the breadbasket of junior tight end Caleb Hammonds in the end zone.
Inman (3-2) would answer on their next possession as freshman quarterback Jace Doerksen hit senior wide receiver Jaxon Eddy on a three-yard touchdown pass to cap off an 11-play, 60-yard drive.
On the next play from scrimmage, Davenport would put the Cardinals ahead for good. Following the Inman kickoff, Davenport broke free down the sideline for a 63-yard touchdown run, giving Ell-Saline a 14-7 advantage.
In the second quarter, Ell-Saline imposed its will, outscoring Inman 21-0 to take a 35-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Cardinals received a 40-yard touchdown pass from Davenport to sophomore wide receiver Treyton Peterson early in the period. Davenport would follow that up with two touchdowns runs of four and 15 yards, respectively.
The Teutons got a jolt of momentum to start the second half, as junior return man Connor Brown took the second half kickoff 85 yards to paydirt. Ell-Saline blocked the ensuing extra point, leaving the Cardinals with a 35-13 advantage. However, the Cardinals would steal the momentum right back. On the next series, Davenport connected with Peterson again, this time for a 21-yard touchdown, giving Ell-Saline a 42-13 lead with 10:05 remaining in the third quarter.
The score would hold at 42-13 until the first play of the fourth quarter when Ell-Saline backup quarterback, sophomore T.J. Morrical punched it into the end zone on a three-yard touchdown run. Following a two-point conversion run from Morrical, Ell-Saline led 50-13. Inman put up the final points of the night as the Teutons’ backup quarterback, senior Jack Doerkson rushed for a two-yard touchdown against the Cardinal reserves in the game’s final minute.
Davenport left the game late in the third quarter with an apparent ankle injury. His status for Week 6 and beyond is currently unknown.
Ell-Saline put up 451 yards of total offense on the night – 301 of those coming in the first half. Davenport went 7-for-10 through the air with 166 yards and two touchdown passes. Peterson hauled in four catches for 141 yards and two scores, while junior Owen Bradley caught two passes for 17 yards. Senior Joel Came added one catch for eight yards.
On the ground, Davenport rushed 12 times for 149 yards and three touchdowns, with junior Luke Parks chipping in 79 yards on 11 attempts. Morrical carried five times for 49 yards and a score, and Bradley rushed once for eight yards.
Both teams begin Class 1A district action next Friday night, as Ell-Saline travels to Belleville to square off with Republic County, while Inman returns home to host Sublette.
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