OWENSVILLE - Prospects for an Eldon Mustangs victory against the Owensville Dutchmen were dimmed in practice earlier in the week.
They were completely doomed by Wyatt Ellis on Friday night.
In a game delayed 40 minutes by lightning, it was Ellis who struck the most for Owensville, leading the Dutchmen to a 48-27 non-conference victory against the injury-riddled Mustangs.
Ellis, a three-year varsity starter for the Dutchmen in just his junior season, stumped the Mustang defense for four passing touchdowns, one rushing TD and 419 yards of total offense. He completed 75 percent of his passes (24-of-32) for 299 yards and rushed for 120 yards on 13 attempts.
"We never got any rhythm at all," Eldon coach Shannon Jolley said. "Ellis is one of the finest players we'll see in the area, any class. We got to him more than I expected, but his strength and speed allowed him to get things done. That surprised us - he gets the ball out well and is extremely elusive.
"I felt we had a good game plan going in, we just did a very sub-par job of tackling."
Eldon took a huge hit when its leading rusher, senior fullback Trenton Kidwell, suffered a broken ankle during last Tuesday's practice. That, coupled with the loss of senior offensive guard Jasey Brandt with a sprained MCL, left the Mustang wing-T offensive attack without a pair of all-district weapons.
Jolley said Kidwell could be back playing before Week 10 while Brandt will miss another week or two.
After things finally got started following the lightning delay, the Dutchmen set the offensive tone in a game that featured just one punt, marching 62 yards in eight plays, capped by Ellis' keeper up the middle for a 32-yard touchdown.
The Mustangs responded immediately with a 68-yard scoring drive, capped when senior quarterback Austin Kempker rolled right and fired a pass to junior tight end Cole Walker, who rambled for a 43-yard TD reception. Junior Trenton Dillon's extra point gave Eldon its lone lead, 7-6, at the 5:50 mark of the first period.
Owensville would score on its next three possessions for 20 unanswered points. Junior wideout Dustin Faragher ended back-to-back drives with a 24-yard TD pass from Ellis and a 24-yard touchdown run. The Dutchmen concluded their first-half scoring with a three-yard TD run by junior running back Tanner Rector.
The Mustangs cut their halftime deficit to 26-13 with a three-yard run by sophomore Isaiah Parsons, who was a standout in his starting debut replacing Kidwell.
Eldon closed to within six points of the lead on a 62-yard, 11-play drive to open the third quarter, capped by another three-yard scoring run by Parsons.
The two teams exchanged touchdowns to close the third period, with Ellis heaving a 38-yard TD pass to junior wideout Sean Irwin and Eldon getting a nine-yard TD pass from Kempker to senior wideout Morgan Anderson.
It was 34-27 Owensville heading into the fourth quarter.
The Mustangs' comeback hopes were dashed by a pair of early fourth-quarter Dutchmen touchdowns. Ellis again hooked up with Faragher for a eight-yard touchdown pass. Owensville senior Dyllan McClure then picked off a Kempker pass and returned it 26 yards, setting up a 12-yard Ellis-to-Irwin TD pass to end the scoring.
Parsons rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries while junior running back Isaiah Merida ran for 74 yards on 18 attempts.
Owensville finished with 483 yards of total offense. Faragher scored three touchdowns, finishing with four receptions for 54 yards and 35 rushing yards.
"We have a sophomore fullback (Parsons) and a junior tailback (Merida) who are going to be special," Jolley said. "We want to build for Week 10. When you get significant injuries it's something that has got to humble yourself. It's very frustrating, but it's a great lesson early in the season against a district opponent."
Eldon (1-1) will open its Tri-County Conference schedule Friday, traveling to Southern Boone for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
"I think they'll be very similar (to Owensville)," Jolley said of Southern Boone. "We have good coaches in the Tri-County Conference and when Southern Boone and Hallsville joined we got a couple more good opponents. We're going to have to play our best ball to get a win."