Late surge propels Elgin past MacArthur, 20-13

LAWTON — Elgin’s offense held Thursday night thanks in large part to sophomore quarterback Tres Lorah, who ran for a touchdown and threw the game-winning pass, propelling the Owls to victory over Lawton MacArthur and grabbing a spot in the Class 5A playoffs.

The winning TD was a 30-yard pass from Lorah to wide receiver Michael Adesola who stretched out and caught the ball in the right corner of the end zone with 37 seconds left to play. The catch was Adesola’s seventh touchdown reception of the season and Lorah’s 10th TD pass.

“Mike made a big play when we needed it. I just knew it would be a fourth quarter game at halftime,” Elgin head coach Chalmer Wyatt said.

Lorah made another big play a couple of minutes earlier when he scored on an 8-yard run to bring the Owls within one, 13-12. Gabe Dittmeyer kicked the extra point to tie the score with 2:56 left in the game.”

Elgin started its drive that tied the score with eight minutes left to play, marching 81 yards in 12 plays. Adesola had two big plays that kept the drive going with a 12-yard catch on a third-and-4 from the Elgin 25. Five plays later, the junior wideout snatched a 23-yard pass from Lorah on a fourth-and-23 from the MacArthur 46. Four plays later, Lorah scored on the eight-yard run.

The Owls defense held the Highlanders on their next possession with two quarterback sacks that forced MacArthur to punt. However, the punt traveled only 15 yards to put Elgin at the MacArthur 30-yard line with 1:12 left to play. Elgin tallied the winning TD two plays later on the Lorah to Adesola connection.

MacArthur had several chances to score in the second half but managed only three points on three trips into the Elgin red zone. Early in the third quarter, MacArthur marched to the Elgin 1-yard line but was stopped on a fourth down play when Highlander running back Jeremy Hutchinson fumbled the ball into the end zone with Elgin recovering.

The win improved Elgin’s season record to 8-1 and 5-1 in District 5A-1 with 56 points. Meanwhile, MacArthur dropped to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in district play. The Owls host district leader Midwest City in the final regular season game next Friday at Elgin Stadium.

Players were elated with the come-from-behind win and the playoff spot they earned Thursday night.

“Their reaction was ecstatic,” Wyatt said. “You could tell by the look in their eyes. These guys are special, and they earned it. Coming out with a win at Cameron Stadium against a team that could be a longtime opponent is big. That’s big.”

MacArthur was held to field goals in the first and third quarters and a lone touchdown in the second quarter. The Highlanders led 10-6 at halftime and increased their advantage to 13-6 in the third quarter. Elgin’s first half touchdown came on a 61-yard sprint by junior tailback Matt Lund who scored his 12th TD of the season. Lund finished the game with 181 yards on 28 carries. For the season, Lund has rushed for 1,239 yards.

Elgin and MacArthur had similar stat lines as both teams rushed the ball for more than 200 yards and threw for less than 100 yards. Each time was also whistled for more than 100 yards in penalties. Elgin plowed through the MacArthur defense for 260 yards on the ground and 80 through the air.