RED DEVILS GET FIRST WIN

The game deadlocked at halftime, Elkmont head coach Sean Holt challenged his young offensive line to dig deep and they responded by paving the way for two second-half touchdowns en route to the Red Devils’ 28-14 win over Class 3A, Region 8 rival West Morgan Friday night at Boss Hill Stadium.

Elkmont (1-3, 1-2) claimed its first victory this season by dominating the point of attack against West Morgan (1-3, 1-2) on both sides of the ball in the second half as the Rebels were held to 69 rushing yards in the final two quarters after gaining 173 on the ground in the first half.

The Red Devils deployed four running backs who had a turnover-free night and took advantage of ferocious blocking up front – anchored by senior center Jake Marshall, sophomore guards Kody Clark and Brent Stovall and sophomore tackles Jon Jon Willliams and Eli Vining — to gain 253 yards on only 36 carries for an average of just over seven yards per carry.

West Morgan opened the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown run by Demetrius Warren with 3:28 remaining in the first quarter. Elkmont responded with a 4-yard TD run by Mike Tucker less than a minute into the second quarter and an 11-yard score by Dustin Ward with 6:05 left until halftime.

The Rebels tied the score at 14 heading into the locker room when quarterback Rodney Young, who had a team-high 126 yards on 17 carries, found the end zone on an 8-yard keeper with 3:01 left in the second.

It was all Elkmont in the second half as Ward struck again with a 2-yard TD with 4:05 left in the third quarter and a 2-yard keeper by quarterback Bryant Wales (3 of 4 passing for 25 yards) with 6:26 remaining in the fourth.

Ward led the Red Devils in rushing with 14 carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns, and he also had a team-high nine tackles and two sacks. Mike Tucker ran 10 times for 44 yards and a TD, while Jared Bailey was 3 of 3 passing for 59 yards and rushed 10 times for 76 yards.

Elkmont hosts 4A West Limestone in a cross-county, non-region matchup Friday, while West Morgan plays 4A East Lawrence at home Friday.

—Michael Carter

Great pictures of the game are available from Down Home Portraits.  

To order click on link:   Pictures

SCRAPBOOKERS - ATHENS NEWS COURIER HAS MICHAEL'S ARTICLE AS WELL; PICK UP A SATURDAY EDITION TODAY