The Ell-Saline Cardinals continued their stellar start to the 2019 football season Friday evening, dominating both sides of the ball in a 40-0 route of the Remington Broncos.

After both teams traded three-and-outs to begin the contest, Ell-Saline (2-0) struck quickly on its second offensive series.  On the third play of the drive, junior quarterback T.J. Morrical ran the Cardinal triple-option offense to perfection, breaking a 38-yard touchdown run to put Ell-Saline up 7-0.

Morrical added a second rushing touchdown with 3:55 remaining in the opening stanza, this time from nine yards out.  Following a missed extra point, Ell-Saline led 13-0.

Early in the second quarter, Cardinal senior Owen Bradley scored his first varsity touchdown on a bruising three-yard burst.  After a quick three-and-out from Remington (0-2) on the following series, Ell-Saline’s offense added a fourth first-half score with senior Luke Parks shedding two would-be Bronco tacklers on his way to a 15-yard touchdown scamper.  The Cardinals missed the extra point, but still led 26-0 with 6:05 remaining before halftime.

Ell-Saline added posterity points in the second half.  With 4:34 remaining in the third quarter and the Cardinals facing a 4th-and-6 from the Remington 15-yard line, Morrical connected with junior Keenan Drees for the game’s first and only passing touchdown to give Ell-Saline a 33-0 advantage.

The final score of the night came on the first play of the fourth quarter, as Drees nimbly weaved through the Bronco defense for a seven-yard touchdown run.

For the second-consecutive week, the Cardinal ground game pounded out five rushing touchdowns while the Ell-Saline defense kept its opponent off the scoreboard.  Through two games, Ell-Saline has outscored its opponents 81-0.

The Cardinal defense intercepted two passes on the night, following a week one performance that saw Ell-Saline recover four fumbles.  Through two games, the Cardinals are plus five in the turnover department, taking the football away six times while coughing it up just once.

The Cardinals finished with 258 total yards of offense, 212 coming on the ground.  Parks led the way with 15 carries for 95 yards, while Morrical added 55 yards on nine totes, while completing two of five passes for 46 yards on the evening.

Ell-Saline will return to action next Friday night for its home opener, facing off with the undefeated Hutchinson Trinity Celtics in Heart of America League play.  Trinity defeated Inman 22-14 Friday evening to move to 2-0 on the young season.