CHERRYVALE,KS – After a “Cinderella” 2-0 start to the 2017, the Eureka Tornadoes had their glass slipper shattered at the hands of the Cherryvale defense in their first league game of the season with the Chargers winning 47-18.
Cherryvale put up 25 unanswered points in the first two quarters. Eureka responded with a touchdown in the middle of the second quarter. The Cherryvale defense intercepted two Eureka passes inside the 2 minute mark and returned them for touchdowns to go up 39-6 at halftime.
“I was very proud of our defense. They played outstanding for the 3rd week in a row. They were able to hold Eureka’s Parmes to only 43 yards on 15 carries.” said Cherryvale Coach Harry Hester.
Eureka lost their starting quarterback in the early going and from there the Tornadoes struggled to find an offensive rythm with a stingy Cherryvale defense taking advantage of the offensive shake up. In fact, Eureka had to turn to freshman Hayden Mead to run the offense.
Eureka was able to tack on an early touchdown in the 3rd quarter, However, the Chargers responded 3 minutes later with a touchdown of their own to put the game out of reach.
“I felt like we came out flat in the 2nd half. Early penalties and turnovers cost us. That’s something we will work on as we prepare for next Friday nights game.”
Cherryvale Quarterback Cade Addis went 6 of 14 with 117 yards and 3 touchdowns. Running back Nick McPherson had 8 carries and 94 yards and Trevor Raida balanced out the offensive attack with 6 carries and 89 yards.
Cheryvale’s outrushed 268 yards to Eureka’s -8. One of the few bright spots was Eureka with 138 yards passing.
Cherryvale improves to 2-1 overall and in Tri-Valley League play. The Chargers host the Fredonia Yellow Jackets next Friday night. Eureka (2-1,0-1) will host Leon-Bluestem (1-2,1-2) next Friday.