NEODESHA — It was all Humboldt when they dominated Neodesha on the road, heading home 42-0 winners Friday evening.
The Cubs (3-0) jumped to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter and a 36-0 lead at halftime. Humboldt forced four turnovers in the first half alone.
Blake Ellis led Humboldt’s offense at quarterback where he passed for three touchdowns and 159 yards and rushed for another 112 yards. Sam Hull was the Cubs’ leading receiver, hauling in two touchdowns on six catches for 107 yards. Hull also threw a 29-yard touchdown.
Along with Hull, Jacob Harrington caught two touchdown passes and went for 66 receiving yards.
In spite of the comfortable victory, Humboldt head coach Logan Wyrick wasn’t satisfied. “We showed flashes tonight of our potential but didn’t execute the way we should way too many times,” said Wyrick. “We’ll always take a big win, but we set ourselves back too many times tonight with penalties. We did a decent job of responding with some big moments. I’m proud of the way we battled all night, and I hope to see our team continue to improve.”
The Cubs opened the scoring after their second forced turnover on Neodesha’s offense when Cole Mathes ran in a touchdown for the early 6-0 lead. Humboldt was successful on their two-point conversion attempt for the 8-0 advantage.
Dominant all night, the Humboldt defense forced a fumble — one of four total for the night — to set up a Blake Ellis passing touchdown for the 14-0 lead.
Garren Goodner carried in Humboldt’s second touchdown rush when he bursted into the endzone for the 20-0 lead. The Cubs then completed a two-point conversion run for the 22-0 lead.
Following another Humboldt forced fumble, Ellis threw his second touchdown pass of the game for the 28-0 lead at the end of the second quarter. Humboldt then converted on their two-point conversion for the 30-0 edge.
Ellis then completed his third touchdown pass of the game with under a minute left in the first half for the 36-0 lead at halftime.
The Cubs’ final passing touchdown came with 11 minutes left in the third quarter for the 42-0 romp.
Kyler Isbell and Mason Sterling each led Humboldt defensively with a team-high five tackles apiece.
Humboldt hosts Council Grove next Friday at 7 p.m.