Football Game Preview: Ell-Saline Cardinals vs. Washington County Tigers + How To Watch

The Ell-Saline Cardinals will square off against the Washington County Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Ell-Saline is coming into the game hot, having won their last seven games.

Ell-Saline is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Kansas' top teams: Central Plains, who was ranked 24th at the time (Ell-Saline was ranked fifth). The Cardinals took their matchup on Friday with ease, bagging a 36-6 victory over the Oilers. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Cardinals had established a 22-point advantage.

Reese Krone

Rushing Yards (Career)

10/24/25 vs Central Plains	82
10/17/25 @ Goessel	55
10/10/25 vs Little River	40
09/19/25 @ Norwich	23
09/26/25 vs Canton-Galva	20

Ell-Saline's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Reese Krone, who rushed for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also threw for 139 yards and three TDs. Those 82 rushing yards gave Krone a new career-high. Kas Kramer was another key rusher, gaining 179 total yards.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Ell-Saline was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 230 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.

Ell-Saline didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Julian Roche and Branton Gosvener.

Meanwhile, after soaring to 78 points the game before, Washington County was a bit more limited in their game on Friday. They had to suffer through a 52-6 loss at the hands of Sylvan-Lucas.

Ell-Saline's record is now 7-1. As for Washington County, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-5.

Everything came up roses for Ell-Saline against Washington County in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the squad secured a 56-0 victory. Do the Cardinals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Tigers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.