Elgin's long wait for a win is over
Elgin already led rival Larkin by 19 points late in the second quarter when the Maroons went for the Town Jug-ular.
With 6-foot-2 senior Jordan Smith lined up in single coverage with 1:48 left in the first half, junior quarterback Terrance Miller-Allen threw a deep pass down the left sideline. The fleet-footed Smith, two steps beyond his defender, caught the ball above his helmet in stride and raced for a 75-yard touchdown to cap a 25-point second quarter, which propelled the Maroons to a 31-13 victory at Memorial Field on Friday.
"That wasn't even the play we originally had called," Miller-Allen said, "but that's kind of how this night went. It went our way."
The victory snapped a 19-game losing streak for Elgin (1-7, 1-5 Upstate Eight River). The Maroons won a football game for the first time since Sept. 28, 2012, when they defeated East Aurora 35-0.
"It feels good, it feels good," said Elgin senior Dontrell Gaddy, who caught a touchdown pass from Miller-Allen and ran for another from a yard out in the fourth quarter.
"It's been a long time. We worked hard for this and we put in a lot of work to get this. Players came out here and made big plays right away."
The victory allowed Elgin to claim the Town Jug trophy for the first time in since 2010, snapping a 3-game slide against its chief rival.
"It was fun," said second-year Elgin coach Kyle Rohde, who earned his first career victory. "It's always nice to beat those guys because I get to walk around saying 'Yeah, we won,' just like the kids do."
After a scoreless first quarter in which Larkin twice drove to the Elgin red zone only to be turned away on downs at the 15- and 17-yard lines, the Maroons took control.
Junior running back Tyrese Riley's 7-yard touchdown run on a pitch right capped an 11-play 82-yard drive, keyed by a 36-yard pass on third-and-9 at midfield from Miller-Allen to 6-foot-6, 235-pound receiver Elijah Bonds, who outjumped the defender for the ball.
"We talked about matchups because Elijah is a matchup problem anyway for a lot of people," Rohde said.
"Their corners aren't very big so if we get him out there and get an opportunity, throw it up."
Elgin's defense forced a short Larkin punt, and the Maroons picked up where they left off offensively. Tyrese Riley ran for 18 yards, Johnny Higgins carried for 2 yards and Trae Sallis capped a 34-yard drive with a 14-yard scoring run. The Maroons led 12-0 after a failed conversion try.
Elgin then caught a break when its kicker mishit the ensuing kickoff. The spinning ball acted like an onside kick, which the Maroons recovered at the Larkin 32. Four plays later, Miller-Allen floated a 6-yard fade pass to Gaddy, who leapt, caught the ball and came down inbounds. Giovanni Villagomez's extra point gave the Maroons a 19-0 lead with 6:22 left in the quarter.
Larkin (0-8, 0-6), which dropped its 12th straight game, moved the ball to no avail. The Royals drove 48 yards in 10 plays to the Elgin 22-yard line, but the drive stalled when Chevelle Clements was tackled for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-2.
On the next play, Miller-Allen hit Smith for the 75-yard score that staked Elgin to its 25-0 halftime lead.
"We ran the ball and we ran it pretty successfully most of the night, but not capitalizing on two or three drives in the first half really hurt," Larkin coach Dragan Teonic said. "And turnovers. The turnovers hurt us a lot."
Larkin sophomore quarterback David Hibbler was intercepted twice, by Smith and Clay White. The Maroons won the turnover battle 2-0.
Cameron Tomlin carried the ball 23 times for 175 yards for Larkin. His work set up Clements' 7-yard scoring run in the third quarter and AJ Hunter's 8-yard scoring reception from Hibbler with 3:47 left in the game, which cut the deficit to 25-13.
However, a 37-yard scamper by Gaddy gave the Maroons first-and-goal at the Larkin 3-yard line and Gaddy scored shortly thereafter on a quarterback sneak for the final points.