By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Ell-Saline Cardinals continued their improbable run last week, not just defeating, but decimating a perennial power in Meade 68-20 to advance to the 8-Man DI quarterfinals.
“We finally put it all together at the same time,” Cardinal head coach Joe Roche said. “We had to punt on our first possession but after that our offense was on and our defense played well all game, it was a fun night.”
Now, Ell-Saline gets an opportunity to check another name off its list, as they square off with the very Hoxie team that decimated them in the opening round.
“Hoxie came to our place and beat us up last year,” Roche said. “We certainly don’t feel like the hunters but maybe this is another stop on our revenge tour. We know that they’re going to be tough and we’re preparing accordingly.”
Earlier this season, the Cardinals handed big losses to Little River and Clifton-Clyde, and this game will feel just as big, magnified further by the stakes of a spot in the semis on the line.
“This certainly feels personal to me and I’m sure it does to the guys too, we remember things,” he said. “They didn’t do anything other than beat us up in a football sense and they deserved to win but those are the games that we’ve laid the foundation of our program on and our guys never want to experience that again.”
In order to continue pushing the envelope of their best-ever 8-Man season, Ell-Saline will have to have an answer for a 9-1 Hoxie program that put up 40 or more points in seven of its ten games so far.
“They’re big up front, they’ve got big backs in the backfield and they have a good quarterback with good weapons to throw to,” Roche said. “Duncan Bell can run and throw and he’s a really good ballplayer.”
That offense is complimented by a defensive unit that has pitched five shutouts, and allowed more than 20 points just three times all season.
“They have some good athletes on their D-Line,” he said. “Their linebackers are fast and their DBs are very smart. We’ll have to execute a few different run plays out of a wide variety of formations and motions and we’ll have to find ways to keep them off balance.”
Achieving revenge and punching a ticket to the final four next week will take nothing less than the best performance of Ell-Saline’s season, but if the Cardinals can put it all together for another week and continue playing their best football, the ceiling for what this team can accomplish remains sky high.
“To stay in this game we’re going to have to stay low, tackle well, keep their playmakers in sight defensively, and execute our gameplan with passion and toughness offensively,” Roche said.
Kickoff between the Cardinals and Indians is set for 6:00 in Brookville, with the winner advancing to take on either Leotl-Wichita Co. (10-0), or Atwood-Rawlins Co. (9-1) next week.