The Coffeyville Red Ravens and head coach Nick Dobler came away with a 31-19 win over the Ellsworth Panthers in Iowa Falls, Iowa, Saturday, delivering the team its second win of the season.
The Red Ravens snagged an interception on the second play from scrimmage to set up their offense with a first-and-goal, but a fumble two plays later gave the ball right back to Ellsworth. Coffeyville would score on its ensuing offensive series after the Panthers punted, with Jahmir Joseph finding the end zone on a two-yard touchdown run for his first rushing score of the year.
The early 7-0 lead would be doubled when Coffeyville gave a Wildcat snap to TJ Ward, who powered his way into the end zone to make it 14-0 with 3:43 left in the first quarter. Ellsworth responded with two scores of its own in the second, including one after a Red Raven interception, but Conner Pierce blocked the Panthers’ extra-point attempt to keep Coffeyville’s advantage at one going into halftime.
The Red Ravens added a field goal on their first drive out of halftime to extend the lead, and Ward added another rushing score after Pierce picked off the Panthers for Coffeyville’s second interception of the game. With a 24-13 lead, the Red Ravens defense continued to make life difficult for Ellsworth, picking off the Panthers for a third time and forcing another fumble to give Coffeyville five total turnovers.
But Ellsworth wouldn’t go away, and with 4:50 left in the fourth quarter, the Panthers recovered a sack fumble and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown to make it a five-point game after a failed two-point conversion. With the ball back in the hands of the offense, Dobler called a Wildcat formation for all eight plays of the next possession, with the majority of them going to Ward, who finished the drive with a 20-yard rushing touchdown that took nearly four minutes off the clock.
The Panthers couldn’t race down the field to cut into the lead, and Coffeyville exited Cadet Field with a 12-point win to move to 2-4 on the year.
The Red Ravens will be back in action next Saturday when they host Butler, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. and kickoff set for 7 on US 98.
