Sun Prairie East continues conference football run

Sun Prairie East followed a 21–18 road win over Milton with a 35–19 home victory against Oregon on Friday, Oct. 9.

The Cardinals scored an important victory last week, outlasting Milton on the road 21-18. This firmly cemented East in third place in the Badger-Large Conference standings. There was no let down, either, as they returned home for week eight.

Sun Prairie East junior Kevin Packard III had two receiving touchdowns in a home win over Oregon on Friday, Oct. 9.

Sun Prairie East welcomed in Oregon to Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium on Friday, Oct. 9. The visiting Panthers had just one conference win to their name entering the game and East handled business with a 35-19 victory.

The East coaching staff had the conundrum of having two capable quarterbacks on the roster entering the season. Their solution was simple. Allow senior Braylon Peterson, a talented runner, to focus on the ground game from the running back position. Sophomore Carter Kavanaugh's role as the primary passer grew from week to week.

How the Cardinals won

Their best combined performance of the season yet came in Friday's win. Kavanaugh was ultra-efficient, completing 11 of his 13 pass attempts for 100 yards and three touchdowns. Peterson was devastating in the rushing attack, turning 19 attempts into 195 yards.

Junior receiver Kevin Packard III was Kavanaugh's primary target with nine catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Brayden Johnson caught Kavanaugh's other touchdown, an eight-yard strike.

Peterson may not have punched in a rushing touchdown in his productive day, but two other Cardinals did. Kavanugh broke loose for an 18-yard rushing touchdown, the first score of the game. Junior Easton McNary followed with a nine-yard scamper for the Cardinals' second score.

These two combined rushing touchdowns sent Sun Prairie East to the halftime break leading 14-7. Oregon applied some pressure as it scored first in both the third and fourth quarters. The Cardinals snuck a score in between these, but their lead was all the way down to 21-19 with substantial game remaining in the fourth quarter.

This is where Kavanaugh showed his best stuff. He threw one passing touchdown each to Johnson and Packard III late in the game, punctuating drives orchestrated by Peterson's legs, to create a comfortable cushion in the eventual 16-point victory.

Sun Prairie East senior safety Jack Ireland wrapped up 16 tackles, including one for loss, in a home win over Oregon on Friday, Oct. 9.

Defensively, junior linebacker Jack Ostrenga led the team with an incredible final tackle tally of 18, including one for loss. Senior safety Jack Ireland was similarly notable with 16 tackles and a tackle for loss of his own. Senior linebacker Mason Campbell was a huge contributor, as well, with 13 tackles and one interception.

Additionally, Sun Prairie East got 10 tackles from senior Carson Selmer and eight each from senior Antonio Graves and junior Javion Sanders. Sanders and junior Andrew Durst also added one tackle for loss, each.

Following the victory, Sun Prairie East improves to 5-3 this year and 4-2 in Badger - Large conference play. The Cardinals will cap regular-season play at home on Friday, Oct. 16 against Watertown.

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-as of Friday, Oct. 9

Additional details

(overall records in parenthesis)

1. Waunakee, 6-0 (7-1)

2. Monona Grove, 5-1 (7-1)

T3. Sun Prairie East, 4-2 (5-3)

T3. Milton, 4-2 (4-4)

5. DeForest, 3-3 (3-5)

T6. Sun Prairie West, 1-5 (1-7)

T6. Oregon, 1-5 (3-5)

8. Watetown, 0-6 (1-7)