The Spring Valley Cardinals dominated the Colfax Vikings by a score of 45-6 in Colfax Friday night.

The first quarter was a stalemate, ending at 0-0 after the first 12 minutes. The second quarter, however, was everything the first one wasn’t for the Cardinals as they exploded for four total scores: two touchdowns on offense, one on special teams and a safety. The first half came to an end with Spring Valley out to a big lead at 23-0.

The Cardinals didn’t take their foot off the gas either, coming out in the third and putting up two more touchdowns via the run game. The fourth quarter saw yet another rushing touchdown for Spring Valley and one garbage time touchdown for Colfax. This brought the final score to 45-6.

Individual standouts included Cade Stasiek who did a little bit of everything on Friday catching the only two passes on the night for the Cardinals for 28 yards and a touchdown, gained 12 yards on two carries, got two tackles including one for a loss, had a kickoff return touchdown, and made all five of his extra point attempts. Diego Schmitt also had a good night putting up 66 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 attempts. Finally, the defense as a whole had a great night allowing just a single score holding Colfax to just 2-9 on 3^rd down and 0-1 on 4^th.

“Offensively we got more consistent with our execution as the game progressed. We were able to get the younger players on the roster in the game and they came in and played with really good energy,” Head Coach Ryan Kapping said. “The conference schedule gets a lot tougher over the last month of the regular season, so we need to improve in quite a few areas to get to the level that we want to compete at.”  

Next up for the 4-0 Cardinals is a road matchup against the 2-2 Clear Lake Warriors on Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

EPC evens season record

The Elmwood-Plum City Wolves defeated the Cadott Hornets 22-8 in Plum City Friday night.

It was all about the rush game in PC as the Wolves attempted zero passes on the night and the Hornets were 0-6 on their targets. The Wolves scored early putting up six points in the first quarter and holding that lead until halftime. They would score two more times in the third and hold the Hornets off the board until late in the fourth quarter.

Blake Allen was the player of the game racking up 172 yards and all three of the Wolves’ touchdowns on a whopping 29 attempts, while also adding 7.5 tackles including two tackles for a loss. Aaden Birtzer also chipped in 57 yards on 11 attempts. The defense did its job as well Friday night holding the Hornets to 2-11 on 3^rd downs, 3-6 on 4^th downs and just 124 yards of total offense.

Head Coach Mike Birtzer had nothing but positive things to say about the Wolves’ performance.

“The game was very physical, and it was close for a bit. A huge turnover right after half led to us being able to increase our lead,” Birtzer said. “As a whole, the team blocked and tackled well. That was a huge factor.” 

With this, the Wolves improve to 2-2 on the season. They will look to keep it going when they travel to Boyceville on Saturday to play the 4-0 Bulldogs. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

Ellsworth has off week

The Ellsworth Panthers lost to the Baldwin-Woodville Blackhawks by a surprising score of 49-0 in Baldwin Friday night.

It was a tough night for Panther nation as they couldn’t seem to get anything going on either side of the ball. The Blackhawks came out swinging scoring three touchdowns in just 4:00 in the first quarter. The second quarter wasn’t any better as Baldwin tacked on two more scores sending the game into halftime with the Panthers losing 35-0.

The Ellsworth defense came out in the second half and looked more like themselves, allowing just one score late in the third quarter and one more late in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the Panthers couldn’t get off the schneid, ultimately failing to score and losing 49-0.

Head Coach Rob Heller was understandably disappointed in his Panthers squad who had played great football up until this point.

“Nothing went well. We didn't execute, and we weren't prepared to take on a team of that caliber on Friday night. When you turn the ball over that many times, can't convert on 3rd down, get dominated on both sides of the line of scrimmage, and blow that many coverages, you aren't going to win many games,” Heller said. “That is a very good football team over there, well deserved win for them, but we played about as poor a football game as you can play in high school football. So, moving forward we close the book on last week and look forward to Somerset and playing in front of our fans at home for the second time this season.”

The 3-1 Panthers will look to shake off this uncharacteristic loss as they return home this Friday to face off against the 2-2 Somerset Spartans. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Prescott loses shootout

The Prescott Cardinals were defeated by the Somerset Spartans in Somerset on Friday by a score of 44-36.

It was a close game that came right down to the wire, but the Cardinals ended up with their first loss of the season.

Prescott started out hot and quickly took a 14-0 lead through the end of the first quarter. Somerset scored early in the second quarter, but Prescott answered right back making it 21-7. The Spartans weren’t quite done though as they managed to score one more time before time expired, bringing the score to 21-14 at the half.

Somerset got the ball first in the second half, and they made the most out of it by scoring a touchdown and securing the 2-point conversion to take the lead. Prescott was trying to tie it up when an errant pass resulted in a pick six and another successful 2-point conversion by the Spartans, quickly changing the score to 30-21. The Cardinals battled back, scoring twice themselves before the end of the very eventful third quarter and taking the lead, 36-30.

Somerset quickly scored in the fourth quarter but failed on their 2-point conversion attempt tying it up at 36-36. Unfortunately, Prescott couldn’t do anything with their possession, and the Spartans got the ball back with 7:00 remaining in regulation. This would be the last meaningful possession of the game as Somerset slowly marched downfield, draining the clock before scoring and bringing the final score to 44-36 after a successful 2-point conversion.

Jordan Hansen, coach of the Cardinals, remarked at how quickly the game script turned on them.

“It seemed like in 6:00 of game time we went from up 21-7 to down 30-21,” Hansen said. “They scored on two 4^th downs and covered two others that led to scores. Not getting off the field on 4^th down ended up being the difference.”

Overall, the Prescott offense did very well, and there was a number of standout performers including Quarterback Theodore Bernick who completed 12 of 22 passes for a whopping 287 yards and four scores. Needless to say, the receivers made some big plays as well with Thomley and Russell both going over 70 yards on four receptions a piece; Thomley also had a touchdown. The biggest performance of the night, however, might be Will Packard’s efficiency, racking up 133 yards and three touchdowns on just three receptions.

Coach Hansen was mostly pleased with the output by the Cardinals.

“The offense did well in the air and can be very explosive when needed,” Hansen said. “It was a great back and forth game, we just have to figure out how to finish.”

With this, Prescott’s undefeated season comes to an end, falling to 3-1. They will look to get back into the win column this week when they host their first true home game of the year against the 3-1 St. Croix Central Panthers. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.