By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
It was an up and down season for the Elkhorn Area High School football team, and though they finished 3-6, let’s assume there were more ups than downs.
The Elks were close to securing a berth in the WIAA Division 2 football playoffs, but fell just short.
“We needed that one more win,” coach Tom Lee said. “That elusive fourth win in the conference is sometimes hard to come by.”
The Elks finished 3-4 in the Southern Lakes Conference, one win short of qualifying for the WIAA Division 2 playoffs. Teams must, at a minimum, post a winning record in conference play to qualify for the playoffs.
But through the course of the season, the Elks did enjoy some signature wins. They defeated arch-rival Delavan-Darien 30-13 Aug. 31 at Delavan for the first overall and conference win of the season.
“Beating Delavan at Delavan was a very big win for us,” Lee said. “It was our first conference win and we got over that mental block, knowing we can play well enough to beat some quality conference teams.”
The Elks also defeated Union Grove Sept. 21 at Union Grove. Elkhorn was previously 0-3 against the Broncos in Lee’s tenure as coach.
Lee said that in 2010 the Broncos eliminated the Elks from playoff eligibility with a 20-13 win Oct. 8 at Union Grove.
“It was a huge loss for us,” Lee said. “Without a doubt, we should have beaten them.”
The Elks closed their SLC season with a 49-35 victory over Westosha Central Oct. 12 at home.
While it wasn’t a win, Lee said the signature game of the Elks season is their 20-13 SLC loss Sept. 14 at Waterford. The Wolverines played last season in the WIAA Division 2 title game, losing 45-0 to Waunakee, and also qualified for the playoffs again this season.
Lee said the Elks were in the contest until the game’s final drive, but an interception killed Elkhorn’s chances for the win.
“It’s not a signature win, but it’s certainly a signature game,” Lee said.
Elkhorn returns a significant amount of players for next season. Lee said 17 juniors will return, 11 of which are starters on the either side of the ball. Twenty-two sophomores will also be promoted to the varsity squad.
Quarterback Arik Anderson returns, along with three of five starting offensive linemen. Three of four starters return in the defensive backfield.
In terms of post-season honors, Jake Sawyers and Kyle Mountford shared Most Valuable Player honors. Sawyers also earned First Team All-SLC honors at linebacker and won the Elks’ Tackling Award.
“He had more than 100 tackles for us and had 22 or 23 in one of our games, which is second all-time in school history,” Lee said of Sawyers.
Quentin Cauffman on the offensive line, Tyler Bowes at defensive back and Luke Gorst as a tight end and punter earned second-team All-SLC honors. Wide receiver Drew Bryson, linebacker Logan Mohr and defensive lineman Grant Berg earned Honorable Mention All-SLC honors.
Andrew Bryson earned Most Improved Player honors and Adam Prince earned the Russ Bray Sportsmanship Award. Anderson earned the Rookie Impact Award for his play at quarterback and on special teams.
Mountford won the Rushing Award and Cauffman won the Top Block Award. Mountford, Sawyers and Kyle Larson earned the Round Up Leadership Award and Mohr received the Oreal James Hustle Award.
Mountford, Sawyers, Prince, Bryson, Mohr, Sam Kemp and Eddie Wilging served as Captains last season. Kemp Sawyers, Anderson and Steve Stukas are the Elks’ 2012-13 off-season captains.
