‘We persevered’: Golden Elks sweat out close win over Vikings in 1st round

ceiver Kyle Jackson down the left sideline for a perfectly executed 85-yard touchdown play that featured Latshaw hitting Jackson in stride as he sped toward the end zone, which would’ve given the Golden Elks a two-score halftime lead.

But, instead, the play was called back on an ineligible receiver downfield penalty – the very same penalty that negated a 28-yard touchdown pass from Latshaw to senior Isaiah Huffstutler on the opening drive of the third quarter.

“That was a tough win, it was a real tough win,” Huffstutler said. “On offense, it’s mental mistakes. … We had a couple of stupid penalties, but at the same time, we held them to six points. And that’s a team that can score.”

In total, the Golden Elks racked up 309 total yards on the evening while running up-tempo all game, but had eight of their 14 drives end in either a forced turnover or a turnover on downs.

In short, Elkton struggled mightily to move the football – or, at least, to cap off some of its longer drives with points.

However, thanks to a strong defensive effort, Cambridge-South Dorchester struggled just a tad more. And, in the end, it all came down to a single extra point.

On the Vikings’ end, they totaled just 160 yards in the loss, with six of their 12 drives ending in either a turnover or turnover on downs, while also adding four three-and-outs in a game that saw their offense routinely fold under the Golden Elks’ pressure.

“That’s what we build off of, just each other’s energy,” said Huffstutler, who plays both wide receiver and defensive back. “I don’t want to stop. It’s my senior year, my last year, and I don’t want to go home and say, ‘What could I have done better?’ so, my team, I just asked them one simple question, ‘I don’t want to go home. Do you guys?’ and they didn’t want to go home. … We did our best, fought hard and that was just a good game of football.”

Elkton got on the board first with 11:13 to play in the second quarter, when Latshaw found sophomore wide receiver DJ Piner wide open in the middle of the field for a 27yard touchdown.

Piner, one of the team’s young cornerstones, strode into the end zone all alone after getting behind the Vikings’ defense for his sixth touchdown of the year.

“A lot of seniors would be like, ‘Wow, that should’ve been me,’” said Huffstutler. “No, dude, I’m running down the field screaming, waving my arms. I’m saying, ‘That’s my kid.’ I love that kid. DJ, I hold that kid to my heart and I hope he goes really far.”

It would be the only score of the night for Latshaw and the Golden Elks, who threw for 193 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the win.

It may not have been the prettiest game for the senior starting quarterback, who had a couple of costly mistakes, but again, a win is a win.

“He’s not the biggest guy, he’s not the fastest guy, he’s not the strongest guy, but he’s got guts and he cares,” Feeney said when asked about Latshaw. “That passion is sometimes all you need to move a football team up and down the field. I know that he wants to win as much as anybody on this football team. We put him in spots, he makes plays and he does what he does.”

Things got shaky for the Golden Elks in the third quarter when, after a three- and-out by Elkton’s offense, the Vikings needed just one play to reach the end zone.

On that single play, sophomore wide receiver Anthony Hughes received a short shovel pass from senior quarterback Talan Middleton, who shifted his way past Elkton’s defenders and took it 46 yards to the house, making it 7-6 pending the game-tying extra point.

But, in a lucky turn of events for the Golden Elks, the Vikings missed the point-after attempt, leaving Elkton in charge with just 14 minutes to play.

And, despite a hiccup here and there, the Golden Elks’ defense continued to play superbly throughout the fourth quarter, holding the Vikings to just 24 total yards in their final three possessions to seal the first-round win.

Now, with Cambridge-South Dorchester under their belts, the Golden Elks will pay a visit to the Rising Sun to play the Tigers (6-3) in the second round of the 2A-1A playoffs this Friday.

In the two teams’ first matchup this season, which came in the season-opener on Sept. 2, Elkton downed Rising Sun by a narrow margin, 40-38. The Golden Elks also knocked the Tigers out of the playoffs in the first round last year, 58-40, and haven’t lost to their cross-county foes in years. “It always is (a heated battle),” Feeney said of his upcoming date with the Tigers. “I think the last three contests, we’ve collectively scored over 80 points. There’s been no defense. It’s the opposite of this (game tonight). So, if we don’t show up offensively next week, we might be in for a long night. But I trust my guys. We’re going to put together a defensive plan that we feel confident in and it’s going to be a battle.”