Picture courtesy of Colton Southern

The Ell-Saline Cardinals were back in action Friday night as they traveled to Claflin to take on the Central Plains Oilers. Central Plains scored the first two touchdowns before a late comeback by Ell Saline fell short as the Oilers escaped with a 24-22 win.

Central Plains got on the board first with a 7-yard touchdown run by senior running back Keeton Robison that put the Oilers up 8-0 with 5:21 left in the 1st quarter.

The Oilers found the endzone again in the 2nd quarter to take a 16-0 lead.

But Ell-Saline was not going to be denied, as they looked to come racing back. The Cardinals found one answer with a 4-yard touchdown by senior running back Jaxsen Seed that closed the Central Plains lead. The Oilers took a 16-6 lead into the locker room with Ell-Saline getting the ball to start the second half.

The Cardinals open the 2nd half with a five-minute drive that was capped off by Seed’s second rushing touchdown of the night. After a failed 2-point conversion, it was just a 16-12 lead by Central Plains.

Central Plains looked to make it tough for Cardinals as they added another score with 1:53 left in the 3rd quarter. Robison found the endzone for the second time and the Oilers once again converted their 2-point conversion and led 24-12.

Jaxsen Seed and the Cardinals wanted to make it interesting as they pulled within four again with 7:17 left to go in the game. Jaxsen Seed scored his third rushing touchdown of the night and the Cardinals seemed to swing momentum as they only trailed 24-20.

The Cardinals briefly took the lead late in the 4th quarter before a holding call erased Seed’s fourth touchdown of the night, but Ell-Saline turned the ball over on downs inside the Central Plains 5-yard line.

The Cardinal defense held tight and forced a punt from Central Plains. Instead of punting Central Plains coach JD Johnson decided to take a safety and give the Cardinals an opportunity on offense. Central Plains kicked to Ell-Saline with 1:30 left in the game and a 24-22 lead.

Unfortunately, the comeback came up short as senior quarterback  Julian Roche’s pass was intercepted by Layton Hoffman which sealed the win for Central Plains 24-22.

With the loss, Ell-Saline drops to 0-2 on the season and are back on the road next week as they take on the returning 8M-II State Champion in the Hanover Wildcats. Central Plains moves to 2-0 on the season and will be at home next Friday against Kinsley.

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