The Eureka Tornado football team took on the Reno County Home School Sabers last Thursday night on a gloomy evening. This backdrop would serve as an ominous foreshadowing for the Tornadoes. As the game began, the Sabers looked to go for the kill while the Tornadoes tried to find their footing.
Nothing seemed to get the normally high productive Tornado offense going and stopping the Sabers offense proved to be difficult. The Sabers cruised to an early 0-15 lead in the first quarter and it did not stop there. The Sabers would rack up 29 points before the Tornadoes could find the endzone. It came on the last play of the first half as Senior Peyton Hare scrambled to his left and launched the ball towards the endzone where Senior Cole Ptacek was waiting. Eureka followed up by a 2 point conversion where Hare would find Brody Mitchell and put the game at 8-29 at half.
The Saber offense would not be stopped though, adding another touchdown bringing the score to 8-35 before the Tornado offense marched down the field where Hare would connect with fellow Senior Noah Rippy for a 10 yard touchdown pass. Reno County would continue to score while the Tornadoes could only spin their wheels on offense. The score was 14-56, with backups in the game to gain valuable experience. Freshman Tate Scott would find fellow freshman Eli Mason for a 43 yard catch and run for the game’s last score. The final score was Eureka 20, Reno County 56. While the Sabers will not continue on with post season play, the Tornadoes look forward to hosting their first round playoff game against the Atchison County Tigers. “We didn’t handle adversity well this week. We must look at it as a learning experience and move forward with the same mindset we did after our loss to Cherryvale,” stated head coach Jonah McKee.
Offensive Stat Leaders On The Night Hare 12 for 24 passing for 182 yards 2 TDs, 1 INT, 18 rushes for 72 yards. Scott 2 for 3 passing for 48 yards 1 TD. Ptacek 3 catches for 34 yards 1 TD. Mitchell 5 catches for 50 yards. Rippy 4 catches for 64 yards 1 TD. Mason 1 catch for 43 yards 1 TD.
