Eudora High's Travis Clarke carries the ball behind the block of teammate William Gadberry in the first half of the Cardinals' contest against Central Heights. Eudora ran away with a 34-0 victory Friday night at Laws Field.

Eudora ? William Gadberry took the misdirection hand off from Kent Swanson and immediately was sprung free down the right side of the field for an easy 76-yard touchdown run.

The run came on just the second play of the game and set the tone for Eudora High. The Cardinals then relied on their defense the rest of the way for their second straight shutout, beating Central Heights, 34-0, on Friday night at Laws Field.

The win improved the Cardinals to 2-0.

“The defense has really stepped up,” defensive back Matthew Abel said. “They play with a lot of intensity and they don’t give up. Anything that is thrown at them from the offense, they go hard 100 percent.”

Abel helped the defense in the secondary, holding quarterback Gus Wuertz to just 4 for 13 passing with an interception. Despite the secondary’s performance, Eudora coach Gregg Webb felt his defense could have done more.

“Our defense is all right when they play well, but we still have issues in the secondary about coverages and formations,” Webb said. “We will take the win and the shutout, but there is plenty to work on.”

The defense also got pressure on Wuertz, sacking him four times.

“It is good when you win like that because then you can make corrections and have the kids feel pretty good about themselves still,” Webb said. “We either have to fix some things or people will take advantage of things.”

Eudora high linebacker Chad Krutz prepares to sack Central Heights' quarterback Gus Wuertz during the first half.

Eudora had 272 yards of total offense in the first half, primarily on the ground, and coasted into halftime with a 28-0 lead. The Cardinals had two 100-yard rushers in Gadberry and Travis Clarke.

Four different players scored touchdowns for Eudora in the first half, the second of which came off on an 84-yard, seven-play drive. Clarke took the handoff and bounced to the right side for a 15-yard touchdown. Swanson hit running back Loni Ogden for the two-point conversion to extend the Cardinals’ lead to 14-0.

After a Ryan Fisher one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Abel returned a punt 65 yards down the left side for a touchdown. Swanson hit Mike Ortega for the two-point conversion and Eudora took a 28-0 lead into the break.

“I do what they ask me to,” Abel said of playing on both sides of the ball. “I have to go hard every play whether it is a run or a pass.”

The Cardinals would score just once more in the second half, on a two-yard run by Gadberry.

“We were terrible in the second half,” Webb said. “I don’t know if it was our focus or what happened, but it bothers me.”

Eudora will return to action Friday at Wellsville.

Eudora 34, Central Heights 0

Eudora 6 22 0 6 – 34

Central Heights 0 0 0 0 – 0

E – William Gadberry 76 run. (Kick failed)

E – Travis Clark 15 run (Loni Ogden pass from Swanson)

E – Ryan Fisher 1 run (Run failed)

E – Matthew Abel 65 punt return (Mike Ortega pass from Swanson)

E – Gadberry 2 run (Kick failed)