Comets roll over the Elks, 38-15
By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Area High School football team and its supporters might consider borrowing a tactic from the Aaron Rodgers’ School of Public Relations.
Relax. R-E-L-A-X.
Rodgers famously offered the response early in the 2014 season when the Green Bay Packers’ record stood at 1-2. Green Bay ended its season in the NFC title game against the Seattle Seahawks, a handful of plays away from another Super Bowl berth.
All is not lost for the Elks this season in the wake of a 38-15 Southern Lakes Conference loss Sept. 4 at home to rival Delavan-Darien on Elkhorn’s Parents’ Night.
The Elks play at Wilmot Friday in a SLC contest. The Panthers and Elks shared the SLC title with Burlington and Waterford in 2014.
Each team is 0-1 in the SLC after one week of play. Waterford beat Wilmot 24-17 in overtime Sept. 4 at Waterford.
“It was 15-0 still almost into the middle of the third quarter,” Elks coach Tom Lee said of his team’s effort against the Comets. “We just made some mistakes.”
The Elks led 15-0 before Delavan-Darien (2-1, 1-0 SLC), aided by Elkhorn turnovers, scored 38 unanswered points. The Comets scored four touchdowns in their final six possessions.
Quarterback Jake Benzing scored the Comets’ first touchdown a one-yard run in the third quarter. Benzing scored the two-point conversion and Delavan-Darien trailed 15-8.
Benzing followed his rushing touchdown with two more third quarter touchdowns.
Benzing threw a six-yard score to Seth Kirsch and the Comets tied the score 15-15 after Pablo Cook-Lavariega’s extra point.
Benzing later rushed for a 12-yard touchdown, and the Comets took the lead for good, 22-15, after Cook-Lavariega’s extra point.
Cook-Lavariega added a field goal in the fourth quarter and Fabias Shipman scored on runs of 63 and three yards for the final margin.
“We were trying to make a comeback,” Lee said. “We got down a score and then down 10 points and then 17 and that was it. Our defense played well, but we gave (Delavan-Darien) a short field to play with in the second half.”
Benzing passed for 293 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 62 yards and two touchdowns. As a team the Comets rushed for 149 yards and four touchdowns.
Elkhorn took a 15-0 lead after Konnor Mohr rushed for a 48-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Quarterback Dylan Peterson opened the Elks’ scoring in the first quarter with a 10-yard-pass to Mohr. Ryan Shilts rushed for the two-point conversion.
Lee said the Elks could have stayed with their running game in the second half, but opted to open up the offense and attempt a comeback.
“Once we got down we tried throwing the ball a little bit more and we just didn’t make the connections and gave them a short field,” Lee said. “We gave them a short field and it was tough to come back.”
Mohr and Shilts each finished with 73 rushing yards – Mohr on 14 carries and Shilts on 13 carries. As a team the Elks rushed for 151 yards on 28 carries.
The Elks’ next opponent, Wilmot, led Waterford 17-7 in the fourth quarter before the Wolverines scored 10 unanswered points in regulation and won with a touchdown in overtime.
The best way for the Elks to put the loss to the Comets behind them is to respond with a strong showing against the Panthers (2-1, 0-1 SLC).
“You turn the page,” Lee said. “It’s a long season. We’re only one game into the conference part of the season.
“We build the momentum by getting a win, and you build that confidence and you start fresh. You can’t dwell on what you did last week.”
