In a postgame meeting with his team, Elkton football coach Matt Feeney called Friday night's victory a "season-saver." The Elks (4-2) snapped a two-game losing streak and bolstered their playoff aspirations with a dominant demonstration during a 50-30 drubbing of previously undefeated host Havre de Grace Friday night at Harris Stadium. "It's important because the way the 2A East is shaping up, [a] 7-3 [record] is not going to get it done," Feeney said. "Now, we've got to be focused on that and every game is huge. It was a big one."
Deploying a no-huddle offense buttressed by a ball-hawking defense, Elkton exploded out to a 31-0 advantage in the opening 18 minutes and never led by less than two touchdowns the rest of the way. In the first half alone, the Elks' senior receiver/defensive back Aaron Hawkins recovered two fumbles, one of which he returned for a touchdown, and picked off a pass. "I just wanted to make my team look good" said Hawkins. "Made a couple big plays." A transfer from Bohemia Manor, Hawkins' role has gradually increased and he has responded in a big way. "Just hard work and dedication," he said. "Just want to make the team proud and my family proud. That's it." Hawkins has become another weapon in the Elks' arsenal of playmakers, a group which already included Tahshawn Watters, Michael Vass, Trevin Ewing, and quarterback Nolan Null. "It's a senior," Feeney said of Hawkins' development. "You get a senior, those guys know how to make plays at the right time. Every week, he has gotten better and better and kind of bought in to what we do here. Coming from Bo Manor, he was there for three years, now he's really getting into the swing of how we do things here. He's starting to blossom. His play has been incredible." The entire team's performance was incredible, especially early. On the first possession of the game, Elkton embarked on a drive down to the Warriors' one-yard line before having to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Jacob Bosler. If you can cite a turning point in a 20-point win, it came on the ensuing Havre de Grace drive. Jahmaad Stansbury returned the kick 76 yards to the Elks' 14. After a run for no gain and an incomplete pass, Havre de Grace connected on a short pass. Watters stripped the ball from the receiver and Hawkins recovered on the 5. Following a Havre de Grace holding penalty, the quarterback Null hit Vass for a 90-yard scoring strike. Instead of potentially facing an early deficit, Elkton took a 10-0 lead. The Elks upped the edge to 17-0 on a 19-yard scoring scamper by Watters with 2:51 left in the first quarter. Then, Dominick Hutchinson pounced on a loose ball after a mishandled shotgun snap to give the Elks the ball on the Havre de Grace 19. Two plays later, Ewing scooted 19 yards for a 24-0 cushion. There was still 33 seconds left in the first quarter. With 6:47 left in the second quarter, Hawkins pried the ball loose from a Warrior receiver, scooped it up, and scored from 24 yards out to make it 31-0. Hawkins intercepted a pass on the next Warriors possession, but the Elks missed a 32-yard field goal. Havre de Grace threatened to get back into the game late in the half. Jordan White returned an interception 15 yards for a TD 2:19 before the break. After Elkton fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Chandler Russo booted a 26-yard field goal to slice the Warriors' deficit down to 31-10 at intermission. Havre de Grace got the ball to begin the second half but lined up in punt formation on 4th and 3 from its own 45. Elkton's Tyone Daniels broke through the line to get a hand on the punt and the Elks took over on the Warriors' 35. The Elks scored on a 33-yard pass from Null to Vass to go up 38-10. "He's a great receiver," Null said of Vass. "He goes out, runs the right routes. He doesn't back-talk the coaches. He takes constructive criticism really, really well and he just makes plays. He's a great player." Following a seven-yard TD run from Havre de Grace quarterback Alex Gresock, a 12-yard burst by Watters padded the margin to 44-17 in the final minute of the third quarter. Havre de Grace made one final push. Gresock scored on another 7-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to trim Elkton's edge to 44-23 and Stansbury recovered an onside kick. Brandon Rabbitt's one-yard plunge reduced the Elks; lead to 44-30 with 7:34 to go. Elkton ended any suspense with a 42-yard TD pass from Null to a wide-open Dah'mear Triplett with 5:29 remaining. "This is a big win, you feel me," Hawkins said. "Our team was down for the last two weeks, lost two games, which we don't expect. We worked hard in practice and it brought over to the game." The game bore some similarities to last year's meeting with the huge difference being the roles were reversed. In 2017, Havre de Grace scored 32 unanswered points to win 39-14 on the Elks' home field. Elkton did not dwell on that lopsided loss. "We didn't bring up last year, because it's a new team and new faces," Feeney said. "We're done with last year." Instead, the Elks focused on getting back on the winning track and staying in the playoff hunt. "Unfortunately, we didn't get the bounce back we wanted last week, but we came down here into a rough place to play against a very quality football team and we played very well in all phases," said Feeney. "I'll take it. I'll take it." Comments are closed.
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