HUMBOLDT — Humboldt wasted little time in showing off its passing game against visiting Eureka Friday evening, as sophomore quarterback Blake Ellis connected with Sam Hull on a 40-yard touchdown pass on the Cubs’ first play from scrimmage.
Humboldt’s ground game took things from there, with senior running back Trey Sommer racking up 160 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Humboldt overcame a few first-half hiccups to pull away for a 42-14 victory.
The win improves Humboldt to 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in Class 2A, District 2 play, and sets up what should be a mammoth contest next Friday at Osage City. Like Humboldt, Osage City is at 4-1 on the season, with both teams chasing Council Grove, which rallied last week to hand Humboldt its only loss of the year.
“We kind of dropped the ball last week,” Humboldt head coach Logan Wyrick said. “We’re playing behind the 8-ball, but we still hold our own destiny, as long as we keep taking care of business.”
Sommer, who entered Friday’s contest averaging nearly 140 yards a game, took control late in the first quarter and never looked back.
He powered his way in for a 5-yard run late in the first half, then reversed course on an option play to the left midway through the second quarter, outracing the Tornado defense 22 yards to pay dirt for an 18-6 lead.
Another 3-yard run in the third quarter preceded Sommer’s final scoring jaunt of the evening, a 50-yard scamper up the middle early in the fourth period.
That score pushed Humboldt ahead 42-6, triggering a running clock for the balance of the contest.
But while the scoreboard suggested an easy win, Eureka was anything but a walkover.
Carson Spoonts, the Tornadoes’ rifle-armed junior quarterback, proved dangerous when given time to throw.
He threw for a pair of touchdowns, including a 65-yard dart to Zachary Hilton, and narrowly missed out on a 71-yard scoring strike when it was called back due to a holding penalty.
“We knew they had some good skill players, and they showed that,” Wyrick said. “We knew what they were capable of.”
Humboldt also stumbled a bit in the first half. One drive short-circuited when two would-be touchdowns were called back due to penalties. An interception ended another potential scoring chance late in the first half.
“We had a little bit of a slump in the first half, and they were able to do some things to frustrate us,” Wyrick said. “But the good thing was the guys kept battling, and we were able to take care of some things.”