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Shiloh Routs Hobbled Elks
Elkins Loses Three Starters On Opening Drive Of Game
Last updated Saturday, September 29, 2007 12:08 AM CDT in Prep Sports
By Brandon Harris
SPECIAL TO THE MORNING NEWSs
ELKINS -- Things went downhill from the start for Elkins.
Shiloh Christian scored three touchdowns within the first five minutes of the game and took full advantage of a hobbled Elks' team on its way to a 56-14 victory at John Bunch Jr. Memorial Stadium on Friday night.
"We talked all week about coming out in the first half and playing hard," Shiloh coach Josh Floyd said. "Last week, we didn't have any intensity in the first half, but I feel a lot better this week."
Shiloh (4-1 overall, 2-0 3A-1 Conference) trailed Pea Ridge 18-17 at halftime last week before pulling away for a 41-24 win.
And if the injury list couldn't get any longer for the Elks -- who are without their top lineman for the rest of the season and don't have a quarterback who's 100 percent healthy -- Antonio Valdez, Blake Bailey and Hunter Guffey all left the game with injuries on the opening drive of the game.
Valdez separated his shoulder, Bailey broke his collarbone and Guffey broke his wrist, Elkins coach Aaron Clark said.
Elks quarterback Jordan Auslam, playing for the first time since undergoing an appendectomy after the second game, was under constant pressure and threw interceptions on three of his five drives before being pulled in the second quarter. Backup Drew Clark, nursing a sore wrist on his throwing arm, started the two previous games for the Elks (1-3-1, 0-2).
"Losing three starters right off the bat was tough, but we've just got to keep battling," Aaron Clark said. "I told the kids after the game that we've got five games (left) in which I think we can compete and have a chance to win."
Shiloh quarterback Blake Roberts was 13-of-19 passing for 170 yards and three touchdowns despite only playing until the 7 minute, 33 second mark of the second quarter when the Saints pushed their lead to 35-0. They went ahead 42-0 before halftime when Josh Huffman returned Auslam's third interception 20 yards for a score.
Freshman wide receiver Zann Jones caught two touchdowns for the Saints, while Matt Gerlt, Jordan Moore, Chris Bryant and Trey Pitts had touchdown runs. Jake Scott also caught a touchdown pass for Shiloh -- his first of the season.
Elkins' first score of the night came midway through the third quarter when linebacker Andrew Brink recovered a muffed Shiloh snap in the end zone, pulling the Elks within 42-6.
GAME BREAKER
Shiloh 49, Elkins 14
Why The Saints Won
Shiloh's offense worked to perfection. Quarterback Blake Roberts was 5-of-8 passing for 139 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter as the Saints built a 28-0 lead and coasted the rest of the way.
Why The Elks Lost
Elkins was anemic on offense from the start, throwing three interceptions managing just 72 yards in the first half. By the time Elks shed the turnover bug, they had already lost a slew of starters to injury, and Shiloh already had the game well in hand.
That Figures
4:58 Time it took Shiloh to build a 21-0 first-quarter lead
3 Touchbacks by Shiloh kicker Trevor Tumlinson
3 Interceptions thrown by Elkins quarterback Jordan Auslam
73 Total yards of offense for Elkins in the first half, after which it trailed 42-0
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