OWENSVILLE, Mo. - A lightning delay and wet field didn't slow down Owensville High School junior quarterback Wyatt Ellis on Friday night.
Ellis fired four touchdown passes and ran for another, powering the Owensville Dutchmen to a 48-27 victory against short-handed Eldon.
A few minutes before the scheduled start of the game, the stadium was emptied due to lightning in the area. There was a 40-minute delay before the game finally began.
Owensville blew out to a 26-7 advantage midway through the second period and was in front the rest of the way.
Ellis opened the scoring with a 32-yard run at the 9:05 mark of the first period the extra point attempt failed.
The Mustangs, playing without leading rusher Trenton Kidwell, who suffered a broken ankle in practice Tuesday, took their lone lead at the 5:50 mark of the first quarter on a 43-yard pass from senior quarterback Austin Kempker to junior right end Cole Walker. Junior Trenton Dillon added the PAT.
Owensville, in its home opener, then reeled off three unanswered touchdowns to lead for good. Dustin Faragher, a junior, caught a 24-yard TD pass from Ellis and followed that up with a 24-yard touchdown run to open the second quarter. Junior running back Tanner Rector added the final Dutchman TD of the first half with a three-yard TD run.
Sophomore Isaiah Parsons, subbing for Kidwell, scored on a three-yard touchdown of his own with 1:03 remaining to cut the Mustangs' halftime deficit to 26-13.
Parsons then brought Eldon to within one score of the lead when he converted his second 3-yard TD run.
The two teams exchanged touchdowns the rest of the third period.
Owensville pulled away with two more scores in the final period, on an eight-yard pass from Ellis to Faragher and on a 12-yard pass from Ellis to Sean Irwin.
Scoreboard: