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THS, McLouth victorious at home

By Shawn Linenberger - | Nov 1, 2005

Mark Elston’s heart rate might be back to normal today.

The Tonganoxie High football coach watched his team enter halftime trailing 14-0 to Bishop Ward on Tuesday in the first round of the playoffs at Beatty Field in Tonganoxie.

But in the second half, the Chieftains, who defeated Ward earlier in the season, stormed back for a heart-stopping 18-14 victory.

Elston preached to his team at halftime that they still were in the ball game.

“I told them it’s just two plays,” Elston said. “We needed to make three plays.”

Tonganoxie (9-1) did just that and moved into Saturday’s regional game against either Hayden or Atchison.

At press time, Hayden led, 13-0, but Elston said he wasn’t concerned about Tonganoxie’s opponent.

“We could play Florida State for all I care,” Elston said.

Fans in McLouth also had an early scare. MHS trailed Sabetha, 7-0, in the first half, but scored 30 unanswered points for the win. MHS coach Harry Hester said it was an exciting night in McLouth.

“It was a packed stadium tonight,” Hester said. “The extra bleachers came in handy.”

MHS (10-0) will play Saturday at Silver Lake. THS likely will play at home in the second round. Game times will be set later this week.