Owls’ total first-half domination dooms Racers

ELGIN—No coach is ever completely satisfied but Elgin came about as close to being perfect in the first half as possible as the Owls owned a 42-0 lead at intermission as Newcastle was completely handcuffed without a first down and just three yards total offense leaving the visitors trying to figure out if there was any way to salvage anything positive in the final non-district game for both clubs.

The Owls scored on their first five possessions and six of their seven series in the first half and after that Elgin’s coaching staff started clearing the bench and even the reserves got plenty of action before the final buzzer sounded with a 56-14 victory.

“I thought our guys really played well on both sides of the ball,” Elgin coach Chalmer Wyatt said. “I thought we executed well on offense and our backs really ran hard. Ritson (Meyer) was running over people and Braxten (Antuna) showed a great burst and really did a good job. We were able to hit some good passes and several guys had big catches for us.”

Of course, it all started with great play from the Elgin offensive line.

“I thought the line protected well and when you can come right out and throw a long pass on the first play, it’s got to affect the defense,” Elgin quarterback Tres Lorah said. “We then were able to hit the A back on a seam and that was big and after that we just kept driving the ball downfield.”

It helps to have to two good backs who complement each other.

“Ritson was just running over people and then you bring Braxton in there and he’s sorta like Matt (Lund) with that burst of speed,” Lorah said. “He had some really good runs tonight.”

That first pass play that Lorah talked about was a 57-yard bomb to Brody Morrison that took the ball from the Owls’ 20 to the Newcastle 23. Four plays later Meyer scored the first TD on a 3-yard run.

Antuna capped a 79-yard drive with a 25-yard TD run for the second TD and Meyer scored from 20 yards out after a 65-yard drive to boost the score to 21-0. The fourth TD came from Keegan Hilliary who caught two straight passes from Lorah on that seam route, the score on a 24-yard play.

Meyer added another 3-yard TD run and then tacked on a 34-yard TD as the score soared to 42-0 with 3:07 left in the half.

That half where the Elgin defense allowed just three yards of offense and no first downs made defensive coordinator Jack Baker a happy coach.

“I thought we did a great job in the first half; we just didn’t give up anything,” Baker said. “It’s great to have some guys who can really dominate up front and when we can get pressure on their quarterback without having to bring a ‘backer it really causes problems for an offense.

“The great thing is we are getting great snaps from guys who are getting their chance. Phillip Pebeahsy is one of those; he’s worked hard and is now getting his chance and he had a good game. Colyn (Donnelly) is always in there on most every play and then to get these other guys going just makes our defense that much better. Shay Spencer had a great game. We have several of those guys up front who we can rotate in there and that helps keep them fresh.”

The Owls’ defense came out in the third quarter and got a quick stop and Antuna tacked on an 18-yard TD run to push the lead to 49-0.

Once again the defense got involved as Josh Adesola intercepted a Newcastle pass and returned it to the 41-yard-line. Seven plays later Lorah hit tight end Adam Eaton on a 13-yard scoring pass and the lead had reached its peak at 56-0.

The Racers were able to avoid the shutout by scoring a couple of TDs against the Elgin reserves but those snaps for the younger defenders will help when district action begins next week against Woodward.