Kingsford senior running back Eli Rouse (20) runs over Menominee’s Isiah Odom (8) on Friday at Flivver Field during homecoming. Rouse ended the day with 30 carries for 330 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns. (Terry Raiche photo)

KINGSFORD — When you look at Kingsford senior running back Elizin Rouse, his strength is obvious. Watch him run the ball one time and you can see the battering ram on full display.

But Friday night, Rouse showed off his breakaway speed, sprinting for touchdown runs of 71 yards, 65 yards and 30 yards and adding three more under 10 yards to lead the third-ranked Flivvers varsity football team to a 41-32 victory over fourth-ranked Menominee at Flivver Field.

With the win, Kingsford (7-1) clinched at least a tie for the league title in its first year playing in the revamped West-PAC Conference.

The victory will go down in the annals of Kingsford football for another reason – Rouse’s spectacular performance. In addition to his six touchdowns, he ran for 330 yards on 30 carries.

“Not a bad day,” Kingsford coach Mark Novara said. “Not a bad day at all.”

Kingsford senior running back Alex Rittenhouse (40) breaks Menominee defender Trevor Theuerkauf’s (11) tackle during homecoming on Friday at Flivver Field. (Terry Raiche photo)

Ironically, Rouse and the Flivvers got off to a slow start. In his first 11 attempts, Rouse gained just 36 yards and lost a fumble. Meanwhile, the Maroons (6-2) moved the ball up and down the field with senior running back Landan Bardowski recording touchdown runs of 4 yards and 1 yard.

But about midway through the second quarter, and with his team down 14-0, Rouse started to do his thing.

After quarterback Nic Novara hit wide receiver Gavin Trevillian with a 14-yard pass on third and six which seemed to lift the lid off the Flivver offense, Rouse ran for 9 yards to the Menominee 35-yard line.

On the next play, Rouse powered down to the Maroon 9 and then blasted his way into the end zone on the next play to put Kingsford on the board with 6:04 left in the second quarter.

“Towards the end of the first half, I broke one, and in the second half, I knew I had ’em,” Rouse said.

That became apparent on the third play of Kingsford’s first drive after halftime. After Menominee drove to the Flivver 21 before turning the ball over on downs on the opening drive, Kingsford moved the ball to the 29 to set up third and three.

Rouse then broke through a hole opened by the left side of the Kingsford offensive line and ran for a 71-yard TD.

Flivver kicker Kaleb Fornetti kicked the extra point after holder Jack Kriegl got the ball down after a high snap and Kingsford led 15-14 with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

Turns out, the second-half scoring had just started. Less than three minutes later, Rouse took off on a sweep to the left sideline and outraced everyone for a 30-yard score as the Flivvers grabbed a 22-14 advantage.

“We had some things we thought we liked (in the first half) but we just didn’t convert on a lot of stuff,” Coach Novara said. “But then we got back to running downhill at them and just kept getting after them. A lot of those guys are (playing both offense and defense) and I think we wore them down.”

That was certainly true of the Menominee defense. But the Maroon offense kept coming and coming. With 9:30 left in the fourth, Menominee standout quarterback Trevor Theuerkauf pulled his team within two after a 5-yard scamper.

And then the teams started trading blows. For Kingsford, it was Rouse again, running away from the pack again for a 64-yard touchdown about 90 seconds after the Maroons had pulled within two points.

On the ensuing Menominee drive, Flivver junior Gavin Grondin picked off a pass deep in Maroon territory. Rouse tallied his fifth touchdown of the game soon after on a 5-yard run to put the hosts up 35-20 with 6:11 left.

Like any running back with an awareness of what goes into a big offensive night, Rouse knew what sparked his parade of touchdowns.

“Definitely our line,” he said. “Our line sets the tone.”

That offensive line included, according to the pregame lineup, center Mason Tappy, guards Grayson Palmer and Logan DeClark, tackles Garrett Veale and Wyatt Shippy. Fullback Gage Gendron and tight end/fullback Noah Johnson added their efforts to the impressive performance.

Seemingly out of the game, the Maroons showed they still had life. Theuerkauf completed four passes on the next drive, including a 16-yarder to Nathan Komp to pull Menominee within nine. But the 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete and Kingsford still held a two-score edge at 35-26.

Which left it up to Rouse again, who rushed for 21, 14 and 15 yards on consecutive plays before plowing in from 1-yard out as the Flivvers increased their lead to 41-26

Menominee added a consolation score on a 2-yard run by Bardowski with 40 seconds left.

But in the end, the story was Rouse. His coach summed up the play of his star simply.

“He’s a fantastic player,” Novara said.

The Flivvers travel to Marquette for their final game of the regular season on Friday, Nov. 20 with key playoff points on the line.