E-S football rolls to 5-1 in Dairyland Conference with win at Whitehall

by Dakota Sandley, student writer, and Beth Kraft

The Eleva-Strum Cardinals traveled to Whitehall on Friday, Oct. 9, for another Dairyland Conference match-up, taking on the undefeated Norsemen. 

The Cardinals scored first and took a 20-8 lead into halftime, then responded to two fourth quarter touchdowns by Whitehall to erase a two-point deficit and secure the 28-22 victory.

The Cardinals received the ball to start the game and capitalized on the opportunity with a score by junior Dustyn Topper. The Cardinals then went up 8-0 with a two-point conversion from junior Jedidiah Lorenz to junior Mathew Higley.

The Cardinals then gave up a safety and a touchdown pass from Payton Slaby to Austin Powell to tie up the game at 8-8 at the end of the first quarter. 

E-S took over in the second quarter with two touchdown scores by junior Quinn Olson and Lorenz to go up 20-8 at the intermission.

Defense was a big statement for both teams, as neither the Cards or the Norsemen found the end zone in the third quarter. 

Whitehall then went on to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter by Slaby and Powell to put the Norsemen up by two points. Eleva-Strum got the ball with about seven minutes left in the fourth quarter and put together a five minute drive topped off by a two-yard run to paydirt by Topper and the two-point conversion by Olson to regain the lead, 28-22.

To close the door, the Cardinals’ defense made a huge stand with less than two minutes to go, forcing a four-and-out to secure the victory.

Olson led the offense for the Cardinals with 167 yards on 17 carries, and junior Ryan Ostertag carried the Cardinals’ defense with 15 total tackles. Powell led the Norsemen’s offense with 164 total yards.

This week wraps up the regular season as the Cardinals will host the Cochrane-Fountain City Pirates on Friday, Oct. 16, for a game that could mean a share of the Dairyland Conference championship title for E-S.

Four teams, including the Cardinals, are currently deadlocked at the top of the conference standings at 5-1. One of those teams is this week’s rival, C-FC, while the other two teams, Whitehall and Melrose-Mindoro, also play each other this week.

Should Eleva-Strum beat the Pirates this week, they are guaranteed a share of the DC title pending the outcome of the Whitehall/Mel-Min game.

The Mustangs handed E-S its lone conference loss on the season, a 21-14 decision on Sept. 25.