By Staff for www.mcpherson-county-ks.com & www.facebook.com/mcphersoncountyks

            LITTLE RIVER – The Little River football team had to hustle in the second half at home Friday to earn a final 32-point, 46-14 win over Ell-Saline.

            Ranked number two in 8-Man Division I, the Redskins are now 2-1 for the season will be at home again on Friday to battle visiting Solomon who will come into the game also 2-1 for the season after losing 58-6 to Canton/Galva on Friday.

            The Redskins put the first points on the scoreboard when Braxton Lafferty rambled in from 41 yards out in the first quarter. With a Braden Young two-point conversion, Little River held an early 8-0 lead.

            Pesky Ell-Saline tied it up early in the second quarter on a 10-yard passing touchdown before Rylan Konen finished off an offensive drive by the Redskins with a two-yard dive into the end zone to give Little River a small 14-8 lead at the halftime break.

            Braden Young had a three-yard scoring run in the third quarter and after Grant Stephens got the two-point conversion, the Redskins were up a more comfortable 22-8 before Ell-Saline struck again on a 30-yard pass play that found the end zone to pull back within eight at 22-14. Little River then kicked the offense into another gear and scored twice more before the end of the third quarter on a three-yard run by Grant Stephens followed by a 34-yard dash to the end zone by Lafferty. With two more makes of two-point conversions the Redskins held a commanding 38-14 advantage heading into the final quarter of action.

            Konen capped off another long offensive drive in the final 12-minutes with a one-yard plunge for another score to give the Redskins the final 32-point, 46-14 victory.

            For the game, Little River ran 49 plays good for 326 yards while holding Ell-Saline to just 151 yards on 51 offensive snaps, including just 46 yards on 22 running attempts.

            Braxton Lafferty and Rylan Konen combined to throw just five passes, completing three for 43 yards while Little River used a power rushing attack that picked up 282 yards on 45 totes to gain the win.

            Lafferty led the runners with 126 yards on 13 carries with Braden Young picking up 69 on 10 totes and Konen getting 62 yards on 13 runs.

            Defensively, Grant Stephens led Little River with 12 recorded tackles that included four quarterback sacks and six stops for a loss of yardage. Braxton Lafferty, Toby Jesseph, and Braden Young chipped in with 11, 10, and eight tackles, respectively.

LITTLE RIVER REDSKINS hosting Ell-Saline

Scoring: Ell-Saline = 0-8-6-0=14; REDSKINS 8-6-24-8=46

1st Quarter:

LITTLE RIVER: Braxton Lafferty on a 41-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Braden Young run) 0-8

2nd Quarter:-

Ell-Saline: Scored on a 10-yard pass play (2-Point Conversion was Good) 8-8

LITTLE RIVER: Rylan Konen on a 2-yard run (2-Point Conversion Failed) 8-14

3rd Quarter:

LITTLE RIVER: Braden Young on a 3-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Grant Stephens run) 8-22

Ell-Saline: Scored on a 30-yard pass play (2-Point Conversion Failed) 14-22

LITTLE RIVER: Grant Stephens on a 3-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Rylan Konen run) 14-30

LITTLE RIVER: Braxton Lafferty on a 34-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Braxton Lafferty run) 14-38

4th Quarter:

LITTLE RIVER: Rylan Konen on a 1-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Corbin Herbst run) 14-46

TEAM STATS:

Ell-Saline: 1st Downs – 8; Total Offense – 51 for 151; Passing – 6/17 for 105, 2 scores; Rushing – 22 for 46; Fumbles – 1/1; Penalties – 2 for 10.

REDSKINS: 1st Downs – 14; Total Offense – 49 for 326; Passing – 3/4 for 43; Rushing – 45 for 282; Fumbles – 2/2; Penalties – 4 for 60.

LITTLE RIVER REDSKIN INDIVIDUAL STATS:

Passing: Braxton Lafferty – 1/1 for 5; Rylan Konen – 2/4 for 38.

Rushing: Braxton Lafferty – 13 for 126, 2 scores; Braden Young – 10 for 69, 1 score; Rylan Konen – 13 for 62, 2 scores; Grant Stephens – 4 for 26, 1 score.

Receiving: Andrew Smith – 1 for 30; Braden Young – 1 for 8; Grant Stephens – 1 for 5.

Defense: Grant Stephens – 12 with 4 sacks, 6 for loss; Braxton Lafferty – 11 with 1 for loss; Toby Jesseph – 10; Braden Young – 8 with 2 for loss; Andrew Smith – 6 with 1 sack, 1 for loss; Rylan Konen – 5; Corbin Herbst – 4; Ruxton Birdsong – 3; Carter Stansbury – 2 with 2 sacks, 2 for loss; Kayston Cox – 1; Kyler Bergkamp – 1.  

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)