ELKINS -- On a cold, wet Friday night at the brand new John Bunch Memorial Stadium, the hometown Elkins Elks took advantage of five Pottsville fumbles and a second-half pick-six, en route to a 78-41 victory in a key 4A-4 Conference showdown.
It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools, who combined for 904 yards of total offense. Elkins outgained Pottsville 530-374.
ELKINS 78, POTTSVILLE 41
Pottsville 13 6 14 8 — 41
Elkins 6 23 29 20 – 78
First Quarter
Pott – Jones 1 run (Torres kick) 8:28
Elk – McClain 1 run (run failed) 6:48
Pott - E. Bradley 10 run (kick failed) :57
Second Quarter
Elk – Dunn 8 pass from McClain (Johnson to Hamilton) 10:59
Elk – Graham 38 fumble return (McClain to Jones) 8:33
Pott – Kemp 1 run (pass failed) 4:12
Elk – Jones 3 run (Jones kick) 1:59
Third Quarter
Elk – Jones 55 run (Jones kick) 11:03
Elk – McClain 12 run (pass failed) 10:00
Pott – Kemp 3 run (pass failed)
Elk – Graham 58 pass from McClain (Jones run) 8:14
Pott – E. Bradley 37 pass from Carpenter (Kemp run) 6:40
Elk – K. Johnson 72 interception return (McClain to Dunn) 2:07
Fourth Quarter
Pott – Torres 14 pass from Carpenter (Carpenter to Rust) 11:09
Elk - Graham 53 pass from McClain (McClain to Dunn) 10:01
Elk – Jones 11 run (kick failed) 9:19
Elk – Shumate 43 run, :58
"I was just proud of how we bounced back after a tough loss last week," said Elks coach Bryan Hutson. "It was nice to see how hard our kids played all night against a really good team."
Junior quarterback Quinn McClain, who came in as the state's Class 4A leading passer with over 212 yards per game, completed 15 of 24 passes for 273 yards against the Apaches. He also tossed three touchdown strikes to increase his total to 22 on the season.
McClain's top target, senior Chad Graham, caught four passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, increasing his season total to 13. Graham also scored with a scoop-and-score on defense.
Pottsville (3-5, 2-3) got the first break on the opening drive of the game. After the Elks' offense quickly moved to the Apaches' 33, McClain's pass was bobbled by the receiver, allowing Spencer Bradley to snag it out of the air and return it to the Elks' 7. Three players later, quarterback Ben Jones's 1-yard scamper gave Pottsville the early 7-0 lead.
Elkins (7-1, 4-1) fumbled the ball away on the first play of the ensuing drive, only to get it right back on an Apache muff on their first play. It took the Elks just two plays to cut the lead to 7-6 on McClain's 1-yard run.
After Pottsville mounted a 12-play drive, capped off by Elijah Bradley's 2-yard touchdown run, Elkins retaliated with an 8-yard scoring pass from McClain to Camren Dunn. Kain Johnson hit Trevor Shumate for the conversion to put the Elks in front 14-13, and they never looked back.
Graham then returned a Pottsville fumble 38 yards for a score midway through the second quarter. The teams then exchange touchdowns late in the half, as the Elks took a 29-19 lead into the intermission.
Pottsville coughed the ball up again on the second play of the second half. Elkins Chance Jones needed just one play, a 55-yard gallop to paydirt. After the Apaches fumbled it away again on the first play of the following drive, McClain ran it in from 12 yards to extend the lead to 42-19 with 10 minutes to play in the third.
Pottsville then switched quarterbacks, bringing in sophomore Konnor Carpenter, who ended up completing 14 of 27 passes in the second half for 213 yards. The youngster tossed a pair of touchdown passes -- a 37-yarder to Bradley and a 14-yard toss to Emiliano Torres.
But it was an errant pass late in the third period that was picked off by Kain Johnson and returned 72 yards for a score that seemed to put the game on ice.
Sophomore Trevor Shumate capped the scoring with a nifty 43-yard run down the left sideline.
Sports on 10/20/2018