It may have been Elk River’s homecoming game, but it was the Coon Rapids’ night on the field as it found the end zone early and often on its way to a 57-0 Friday night romp.

The victory, in which seven different players scored touchdowns, raised Coon Rapids’ Northwest Suburban record to 3 wins and 2 defeats — one game out of first place.

Senior quarterback Blair Townsend hooked up with Even Lowe on a 45-yard screen pass to open the scoring and followed that up with a 47-yard strike to Jerrad Zimmel on a play action pass for touchdown No 2. Townsend personally added a third touchdown — on the ground — to give his team a 20-0 lead before the end of the first quarter.

The Coon Rapids defense, meantime, pressured the Elk River quarterback all night, not giving up much ground. In fact, it limited Elk River to a -2 yards during the first half. The defense even chipped in on the scoring end of things by collecting a safety. Linebacker Jordan Dixon caiught the Elk River running back behind the goal line, made the tackle and secured the bonus points.

But this game belonged to the offense and Townsend, who threw another touchdown pass to Jerry Norris, then handed off to Joe Novak to score a fifth. Just before halftime, freshman Antonio Ford scored the first of the two touchdowns he scored in the game as the rout was on: 43-0.

The Cardinals scored two more times during the second half that featured many of both teams second string players. Carter Adams found the end zone on a powerful 13-yard run for one and Ford scored the other by sweeping around the right to the end zone.