Cardinals meet tough match-up with Hurley to end continued playoff hopes

by Beth Kraft

The Eleva-Strum football team was hoping for more than a brief showing in the playoffs this year after the Cardinals drew valuable experience from their first time on the postseason stage in 2014 following a seven-year hiatus.

Armed with a speedy group of running backs and great blocking, the fifth-seeded Cardinals made the trek to No. 4 Hurley for their Level 1 playoff game on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 24.

Unfortunately for the Cards, the hard-hitting tactics of host Hurley were too much for E-S and its ground speed to overcome, resulting in the 14-6 loss that effectively dropped the Cardinals from the playoffs in the first round for the second straight year.

The Cardinals got on the board in the first quarter when junior quarterback Jedediah Lorenz connected with junior Tanner Engen for a 33-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch.

Hurley added two touchdowns of its own throughout the course of the game and kept the E-S rushing corps under wraps. The Cardinals have averaged over 350 yards per game on the ground as a team, but on Saturday they were held to just 122 yards led by junior Quinn Olson, who had 73 yards on 12 carries.

Olson nearly landed in the end zone as time expired that could have helped the Cards tie the game, but he was brought down hard just short of the goal line.

Dustyn Topper added 50 yards rushing for E-S on nine attempts. Lorenz was 2-for-8 in passing for the afternoon for 85 yards.

E-S closes out the 2015 season at 7-3 overall and was 6-1 in the Dairyland Conference, earning a share of the conference title for the second straight year.