Sports

BELLEVILLE — In a North Central Activities Association conference game Friday, the Ellsworth Bearcats defeated the Republic County Buffaloes in Belleville, 22-6.

Ellsworth scored first, with quarterback Zac Schneider throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Remington Cravens with 5:41 left in the first quarter. Jordan Base’s 2 point conversion run made the score 8-0.

The Cats’ extended their lead with only 59 seconds left in the second quarter. Grant Gwinner powered in a 3 yard touchdown run. The point after touchdown was no good, and the score was 14-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Buffaloes’ Nicholas Allsman returned Avery Haxton’s kickoff for a 75 yard touchdown. The 2 point conversion was no good. This would be Republic County’s first and only touchdown of the game. That ended the scoring in the first half, with Ellsworth still in the lead, 14-6. Both teams’ offense struggled for consistency in the second half, and both teams’ defense stepped up their game.

CLAFLIN — Last Friday, the Central Plains Oilers football team battled against the Otis-Bison Cougars in a Homecoming struggle at the CPHS football field in Claflin.

Although Otis-Bison is ranked No. 3 in Kpreps 8-Man Division 2, the O-Men did not disappoint the homecoming crowd, earning a 36-12 victory over the Cougars.

Oilers coach Chris Steiner thought his team played well.

“We did what we wanted to do defensively,” he said. “On offense, we stuck to our game plan and were successful.”

The Oilers are looking to retain the winning advantage on their home turf after suffering a home loss to Victoria two weeks ago.

Just two minutes into the game, Otis-Bison earned the first six points with a 24-yard off tackle run by senior Blake Bahr. The point after touchdown failed.

Special to the I-R

The Ellsworth Junior/Senior High School cross country teams went to Salina and Hesston this past week and returned home with several personal best times and their share of hardware. Here are the medal winners.

In the Sacred Heart meet Sept. 5 at Salina, Joni Schroeder medaled 10th in the 8th grade girls race, time of 14:00, and Cade Gwinner medaled 6th in the 7th grade boys race.

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By TAYLOR HOLECEK
For the I-R

The Ellsworth Bearcats defeated the Beloit Trojans for the first time since 2009 in the football game Friday, with a final score of 28-22.

Both the team and head coach, Josh Homolka were optimistic and the Bearcats knew what they had to do to win going into the game — bring a tough defense.

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By the I-R Staff

The Lady ‘Cats must hope this past week is an indication of the season ahead.

On Aug. 31, the Lady ‘Cats lost to Ellinwood 21-25 before coming back to defeat Ellinwood 25-13 and 25-18. The next round saw Ellsworth win over Sterling 25-15 and 25-21 for a 4-0 record.

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By the I-R Staff

This year’s Ellsworth Invitational tennis tournament Aug. 20 at Ellsworth wasn’t won by a local team; however, Ellsworth and Central Plains high schools still managed to make their marks.

Lindsborg’s Smoky Valley won the eight-team invitational with 64 points. Coming in second was Ellsworth with 45 points. Third place went to Central Plains with 41 points.

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Jacqueline Reynolds
Ellsworth County I-R

The Ellsworth Bearcats began their football season against the Russell Broncos who defeated them in the 2016 season opener.

This year was a much different story.

There were lots of fans on both sides present to witness the rematch, but the Broncos were no rival for the Bearcats, who posted a 34-6 win.

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By the I-R staff

CLAFLIN — Coach Gary Bittner expects the 2017 Oiler tennis team to be a fun one to watch.

Central Plains returns three players from this past year’s regional squad.

Seniors Hannah Beran and Mikayla Menges are expected to partner for the Number One doubles position.

“The duo has some work to do, but they have the capability to play well together,” Bittner said.

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Here are the results from the El-Kan Western Riders Rodeo Aug. 19-20 in the arena at Ellsworth:

Friday, Aug. 18

Bareback Riding: Cotton Delgado 77, Colt Eck; 66. Saddle Bronc: Luke Rush 77. Steer Wrestling: Ryan Swayze 4.4. Calf Ropers: Jerome Schreeberger 9.5, Colby Haetton 10.9, Marley Berger 13.1. Barrel Racers: Britt Widrig 16.942, Kylie Ast 17.249, Dani Rouse 17.326, Abby Berger 17.421, Gretchen Spitz 18:070. Team Ropers: Ty Bryant/Travis Hodson 5.9, Braden Stueve/Linden Stueve 6.7; Jared Flores/Cody Scheck 7.2; Jake McCullough/Troy Gaston 10.4. Bull Riders: No qualified riders. Ranch Bronc: Austin Rathbun 77.

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Maggie Allen and Paige Talbott received medals for their 6th place finish in the 4x800 relay at the 51st USAFT Hershey National Junior Olympics Track and Field Championship July 25 at Lawrence.

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