SALINA — The Ellsworth Bearcats varsity football team played the Sacred Heart Knights in their season opener Sept. 6, winning 39-16.

By the end of the game, Senior Landin Johnson ran for an astounding 274 rushing yards and four touchdowns. According to Max Preps, Johnson was the player with the most rushing yards in the state for the season opener.

The Cats created a strong start. In less than five minutes, they put the first number on the board when junior Tucker Goss scored a 13-yard touchdown.

Johnson would kick them into double digits with a 2-yard touchdown with 48 seconds left in the first quarter.

By the end of the first quarter, the score was 14-0, giving the Cats having a comfortable lead.

The second quarter would feature the first score by the Knights and they made the 2-point conversion.

Both teams would also have turnovers.

Similarly to the first quarter, Goss would be the first to score for the Cats again, with 6:33 left on the clock.

Johnson would also score, but he went “beast mode” this time, scoring a whopping 57-yard touchdown.

The first half ended 26-8.

The third quarter was another period of stagnation for the Knights, as they wouldn’t put anything else on the board. The quarter would feature Goss heavily once again. At 4:13 into the quarter, he scored a 47-yard touchdown. He scored again just 2:27 later from 57 yards. That was, coincidentally, the same distance Johnson scored from a quarter before.

The third quarter ended 39-8.

In the fourth quarter, the Knights would find some success — limited success, but success nonetheless. They scored another touchdown, but those would be the only points scored that quarter.

“I think we played well. We have some things to fix. For the first time out, we have a great foundation to build on,” Bearcat Head Coach Josh Homolka said.

Senior Daxton Leiker and junior Ethan Tully made five tackles each.

Freshman Bo Kyler made all seven kickoffs, totaling 312 yards. He also kicked 3 points for the team.

Despite this being their first game of the season, the Cats would only have two penalties, the earliest in the first quarter for grabbing a face mask and the next in the second quarter for holding.

This puts their season record at an undefeated 1-0.

The Cats will play the Republic County Buffaloes on the road Sept. 13.

“I think we played well. We have some things to fix. For the first time out, we have a great foundation to build on.”

Josh Homolka Head Football Coach