By Jacob Mathias

It wasn’t just the weather that was hot Friday night.

In a decided victory, the Iola-Scandinavia Thunderbirds varsity football team defeated the Pacelli Cardinals 47-14 at Goerke Field on Sept. 22. Pacelli entered the game following a 41-14 victory over the Weyauwega-Fremont Indians on Sept. 15. Their record now stands at 4-2.

The Thunderbirds hit the ground running with a 54-yard drive ending in a 2-yard touchdown run by junior running back Bryce Huettner. A successful extra point gave I-S a 7-0 lead.

I-S would score another three unanswered TDs, bringing their halftime lead to 28-0.

Thunderbird sophomore quarterback Connor Kurki connected with senior Ben Cady for a 29-yard TD pass in the first quarter before scoring another two TDs himself on 15 and 22-yard rushes in the second quarter.

The Cardinals racked up their first points of the game in the third quarter when junior QB Zach Zimmerman ran in a 4-yard TD. The Thunderbirds soon responded with TDs by Kurki and Huettner.

Pacelli next travels to Amherst to take on the top-ranked Falcons (5-0) at 7 PM on Sept. 29.