Too many miscues for Elgin
Twelve penalties for 115 yards. Three lost fumbles and 2 pass interceptions.
You get the picture.
Elgin made way too mistakes.
The end result was a 28-14 Crystal Lake Central win over the Maroons in a nonconference game at Central's Metcalf Field Friday night.
"Too many penalties," said Elgin coach Dave Bierman. "We will have to look at the film and see who the guilty parties were. We also did a poor job against the run. We knew what plays they were going to run and they executed their offense very well. We couldn't stop the run."
The Tiger offense amassed an amazing 520 yards on the ground in 59 carries with 32 first downs.
Adam Smyth led the way with 248 yards on 21 carries with touchdown runs of 21, 55 and 67 yards. Sophomore Gage Harrah rambled for 165 yards on 16 carries and scored on a 16-yard run.
"We overcame a lot of things tonight and found a way to win," said Central coach Jon McLaughlin. "We have four really good backs and they all ran well tonight. They all get up and go and can score from anywhere on the field."
Led by the play of Jordan Dean, the Maroons held a 14-13 lead at halftime. Central (2-1) scored first when Smyth went in from 21 yards out with 7:58 left in the first quarter. Elgin (0-3) responded when Dean scored on a 4-yard run and the score was tied at 7 with only 26 seconds elapsed in the second quarter.
Harrah scored on a 16-yard run with 7:04 left in the quarter to give the Tigers a 13-7 lead. Elgin's Cory Michalik blocked the extra point to keep the Maroons' deficit at 6.
On the ensuing kickoff, Dean took the ball at his own 26, and squirted straight up the field for a 74-yard touchdown. Nikil Satish converted the extra point and Elgin led by 1 after 24 minutes.
The Tigers scored 14 unanswered points in the second half on a pair of TD runs by Smyth.
Elgin quarterback Jake Meyer completed only 3-of-16 passes for 61 yards and 2 interceptions. Adam Hameed and Jackson Francis picked off passes for the Tigers.
For the Maroons, Dean caught a pass for 30 yards, Brandon Braymon snared a pass for 28 yards and Alan Walker caught a pass for 3 yards.