West Aurora 21, Elgin 13
In a battle of missed opportunities, West Aurora and Elgin were locked in a low scoring slugfest for nearly three quarters.
But lightning in a bottle exploded for West Aurora in a big way. In a span of 71 seconds late in the third quarter, the Blackhawks erupted for a pair of big-play touchdowns that opened the door to a 21-13 victory over nonconference Elgin Friday night.
The double-barreled attack delivered West Aurora its second straight victory, pushing the Blackhawks to a 2-0 start for the second consecutive year under coach Buck Drach.
Trailing 7-6 late in the third and seemingly stymied by Elgin's stout defense, the Blackhawks hit paydirt on a third-and-15 pass. On a fade pattern to the left corner of the end zone, receiver Theo Hicks pulled in a high floater from quarterback John Nunnally for the go-ahead score.
The same duo combined on the ensuing two-point conversion as West suddenly discovered its passing game.
West Aurora's defense snuffed Elgin on three plays during the next series, setting the stage for the game-breaking play -- a 55-yard punt return for a TD by senior Mike Roggeman, who got a running start on the play, caught it on the fly and zipped through Elgin's coverage for the decisive touchdown.
"That was huge for us, no doubt about it," Drach said. "Mike did a great job with that. We should have had a kickoff return (for TD), too. Our return game was strong."
It helped atone for a wasted opportunity earlier in the quarter, when the Blackhawks drove to Elgin's 5-yard line but fumbled away its scoring chance.
Both of West Aurora's touchdowns came as a result of Elgin's troubles in punt formation. Hicks' touchdown came after a high snap gave the Blackhawks possession at Elgin's 20-yard line.
"We put our defense in some tough situations and they could have easily folded," Elgin coach Tom Kim said. "But they battled and fought hard. It just came down to us making too many miscues."
Even so, Elgin (1-1) made it interesting all the way to the end. After stopping West Aurora short in the red zone again, the Maroons started at their own 12-yard line midway through the fourth quarter and struck big when Tom Roth hit Kenny Williams in stride down the right sideline for a 75-yard touchdown.
For the most part, Williams was held in check by West's swarming defense, limited to 59 yards rushing on 10 carries. Terrell Walker led the way with 62 yards on eight carries. But West held Elgin to just 20 yards rushing after halftime and 165 total.
Converted running back D.J. Smith led all players with 112 yards on 23 bruising carries. Smith scored West Aurora's first TD -- a 19 yard sweep -- after an interception and 35-yard return by Sean Walgrave.
Elgin responded on its ensuing possession, marking 78 yards on just six rushing plays, capped by a 7-yard touchdown burst up the middle by Williams to give the Maroons a 7-6 halftime lead.
Nunnally, after hitting on just 1 of 4 passes in the first half, was a difference-maker in the second as he connected on 8 of 9 attempts for 97 yards.
"We should have put more points on the board, but (Elgin's) defense took a lot of opportunities away from us," Drach said.
"We were right there," Kim said. "We just have to take advantage of our opportunities and make more plays."