Many happy returns for Elgin in big win
It started out like any ordinary night, but it definitely ended in a special way for the Elgin Maroons, who scored 3 touchdowns on returns for a 26-19 Upstate Eight Conference River Division victory over visiting St. Charles North at Memorial Field.
Senior Earl Holloway returned 2 kickoffs for touchdowns. He returned his first 80 yards for the score in the second quarter, and then a second for 70 yards in the third to lead the Maroons.
"Jordan Dean told me I was going to get the ball," Holloway said of his first return. "I knew I had to try to do something to help the team, and then I found a hole and shot it and it worked out."
Senior Jordan Dean also joined in on the special teams splurge with an 85-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter to give the Maroons (4-2, 3-1) a lead at the half.
Head coach Dave Bierman indicated that it was hard to get anything going against a stingy North Star defense, but the special teams came through when they had the opportunity.
"It's been a while since we've beaten them," Bierman said. "Coach (Mark) Gould does a great job over there with those kids. This whole division is a battle. It was hard for us to find a rhythm offensively, but they really did a great job on special teams."
The North Stars might have felt they deserved a better fate after the game, holding the Maroons' offense to only 3 first downs for the entire game.
Gould credited the speed of the Maroons for their game-changing returns.
"We worked real hard defensively to slow down their run game, but their return teams killed us," Gould said. "We had a tough time with their speed and it showed in the return game."
The North Stars started the scoring on their first drive of the game on a 2-yard run by Benjamin Hodges. Elgin turned the ball over on downs at the 14, and the North Stars (2-4, 1-2) went back to work. First down completions to William Ohlrich and Josh Mikes moved the ball into Maroon territory, and a 15-yard run by Ohlrich brought them down within distance. The North Stars made it 13-0 on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Shiltz to Andrew Elliott.
Everything seemed to be going perfect for the North Stars, but the subsequent kickoff went out of bounds to force a re-kick. That's when Holloway struck, taking the ensuing kickoff back 80 yards to put the Maroons within a touchdown.
After the Maroons' defense forced a punt, Dean fielded the punt at his own 15 and took it right up the middle and then down the right sideline to put the Maroons ahead 14-13.
The North Stars appeared to have learned their lesson and opened the second half recovering an onside kick. Shiltz took it in himself from the 1-yard line to put the North Stars up temporarily. The North Stars' next kickoff went out of bounds, which gave the Maroons another chance at a return. Holloway found another seam and caught the line-drive punt on one bounce and then proceeded to return it 70 yards for the score.
The final score of the game came with just under 4 minutes remaining in the game. The Maroons faced 2nd-and-6 from their own 15-yard line when senior quarterback Lee Jackson found Holloway deep over the middle for a 47-yard completion. Dean took it in one play later from the 38 to give the Maroons the lead and seal the victory.
"They've got a lot of good athletes over there," Bierman said. "So we try to get our kids in space and let them do their thing."