Elks rally in final minutes to win first game of year
By Chris Bennett
Sports correspondent
A touchdown and two-point conversion in the final two minutes of regulation Aug. 25 earned the Elkhorn Area High School football team its first victory of the season.
Elkhorn rallied to beat Lakeside Lutheran at Lake Mills, 32-31. The Elks play Westosha Central Friday at Paddock Lake in the Southern Lakes Conference opener for both teams.
The recent victory over the Warriors (1-1) marks Elkhorn’s first win in a year. Elkhorn’s 33-7 victory against Lakeside at Elkhorn on Aug. 26, 2016 marked last season’s only win for the Elks.
“It’s a new group of kids,” Elks coach Tom Lee said. “They don’t own those losses from last year. It’s a different group. I don’t know that they were necessarily focused on the losing from last year, but they were certainly encouraged with the win on Friday.”
The Elks (1-1) opened the fourth quarter with a 24-21 lead. Lakeside (1-1 kicked a 30-yard field goal with 5:15 left in the game to tie the score at 24-24.
A 56-yard touchdown pass from the Warriors’ Jack Monis to Dustin Pampei gave Lakeside a 31-24 lead with 3:17 left in the game.
Elkhorn’s Brett Rank returned the ball to the Elks’ 5 yard-line on the ensuing kickoff. After a few plays for positive gain, quarterback Braeden Mohr found wide receiver Colton Loomis for a 40-yard gain that put the ball within the Warriors’ one-yard line.
Mohr scored on a quarterback sneak. The Elks trailed 31-30 with 1:29 left in regulation.
“I came out to the huddle with the full intention of going for two, unless the guys said let’s go into overtime,” Lee said. “Everyone on offense said ‘We got this.’”
Lee admits the Elks did not have a designated two-point conversion play, but have plenty of short-yardage options in the playbook. Over the course of the game, though, Lakeside saw most of the short-yardage plays in the Elks’ repertoire.
Elkhorn opened with triple receivers to Mohr’s left, and a single receiver to his right. The play called for Michael Lois to run a slant in the end zone and settle down.
Loomis went in motion, forcing a defender to cover him across the width of the offensive formation, and was to run a two-yard out.
Running back Dakota Biefeld lined up in a wing formation, with instructions to chip the defensive end and wait to engage linebacker Cade Olszewski, whom Lee said is Lakeside’s best player on defense.
Finally, Mohr also had the option to run, which he did. Lee said Mohr broke outside and reached the end zone untouched to give the Elks a 32-31 lead.
Lee said the Warriors drove to the Elks’ 28-yard line on the ensuing possession. On fourth down. Lois reached Lakeside’s quarterback as he released the ball, and Nick Rockweiler batted the ball to the ground to preserve the win.
Mohr rushed for 112 yards, passed for 67 and scored three touchdowns. Biefeld rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown.
Loomis caught two balls for 52 yards and Rockweiler caught two balls for 15 yards.
Lee said the Elks’ next opponent, at Westosha Central tonight, is much improved over recent years. The Falcons (2-0) won 28-20 last week in a non-conference game at Woodstock (Ill.) North. Central passed for 177 yards and rushed for another 159.
“We have to focus on the passing game,” Lee said. “(Central) can throw the ball. They have a nice, little balance. They have momentum, and confidence in themselves.”
