‘Cats defeat Buffs at Belleville
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.
The only offensive breakout in the second half was by the Bearcats. Two minutes into the third quarter, Zac Schneider found Remington Cravens for a 37-yard touchdown toss. Schneider followed with a 2 point conversion run. This completed the game with the Bearcats winning 22-6.
“Winning is hard and enjoy it,” Bearcats head coach Josh Homolka reminded the team after the game. “It’s not bad to feel bad that we didn’t play our best. But it was good enough and we made enough plays to win.”
A big reason for the positive 3-0 start to the Bearcats’ season has been defense stepping up and making plays, which Homolka acknowledges assistant coach and defensive coordinator, Jason McWilliams, for helping with.
Schneider was 11 of 21 passing for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Cravens hauled in six catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns; Base had four catches for 23 yards; Bransen Schulte had one catch for 9 yards.
On the ground, Gwinner led with 11 rushes for 69 yards and one touchdown; Base had eight carries for 61 yards; Schneider had 16 carries for 41 yards; Luke Sharp had three carries for 6 yards.
Ellsworth will play Lacrosse at 7 p.m. Friday in Lacrosse. The Leopards are 1-2 with losses to Elkhart, 20-0 and Colby, 49-6, and a win over Washington County, 34-7.