After their opening season win against the Russell Broncos, the Ellsworth Bearcats improved to 2-0 with a 27-20 win Friday against Republic County at Belleville.

Following sluggish starts for both teams, excitement built for the ‘Cats as Kash Travnichek recovered a fumble on the Buffs’ 3- yard line, and ran it to the endzone for a 97-yard touchdown.

The PAT kick by Alberto Socorro de la Fuente was good. With 5:15 left in the first quarter, Ellsworth led Republic County 7-0.

To begin the second quarter, the Buffaloes ran in their first touchdown from the 3-yard line. The 2-point conversion run was unsuccessful.

The rest of the half was full of defensive stops. The ‘Cats went into halftime with a 7-6 lead.

Ellsworth received the ball to open the second half. The ‘Cats immediately turned the ball over to the Buffaloes on their own 47 yard line. Following the turnover, the Buffaloes ran in a 53-yard touchdown, and the 2-point conversion run was good. With 11:04 remaining in the third quarter, Republic County led Ellsworth 7-14.

Four minutes later, the ‘Cats had a response of their own as quarterback Morgan Kelley ran in a 3-yard touchdown. Socorro’s kick was no good, giving the Buffaloes a one-point advantage. one-point advantage.

To start the fourth quarter, momentum shifted as Luke Sharp ran in a 5-yard touchdown. Kelley’s 2-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

With 10 minutes remaining in the game, Ellsworth had a 19-14 lead over the Buffaloes. That was followed with a 2-yard touchdown run for Republic County and an unsuccessful 2-point conversion attempt, giving the Buffaloes a one point lead.

Following the Republic County touchdown, the ‘Cats were desperate to score with two minutes remaining. The Bearcats marched down the field and used all of their timeouts.

A stunning 6-yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion by Kelley with 26.3 seconds remaining sealed the win for the ‘Cats, giving them their second win of the season.