Golden Elks suffer loss to high-powered Bobcats

By Victor Hensley

ELKTON - In sports, sometimes you simply run into a buzzsaw.

And there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it.

That’s exactly what happened to the Elkton Golden Elks (4-4) last Thursday, when the unbeaten Bel Air Bobcats (8-0) strolled into town and handed them a devastating loss on senior night, 48-8, in a game that featured a running clock for much of the second half.

“They've got really tough kids over there who are, physically, just imposing,” said Matt Feeney, the Golden Elks’ head coach, following the loss. “That line is big and athletic and they move people, and their running backs will run your face over. They’ve got guys, so we just weren't able to stand in with them for four quarters.”

Elkton struggled with Bel Air’s physicality from the get-go, fumbling on the very first play of the game to give the Bobcats the ball on Elkton’s 6-yard-line.

It took just one play for Bel Air to find the end zone on a 6-yard run from senior Nehemiah Ramsey – one of his two touchdowns on the day – to quickly make it 7-0 Bobcats.

The Golden Elks proceeded to give the ball back on their next possession on another lost fumble, as the Bobcats then scored on the following two drives to extend their lead to 21-0.

Scoring both of those touchdowns for Bel Air was senior wide receiver Tre Dennis, who had himself a day, catching five balls for 114 yards and four scores, with three of them coming from senior starting quarterback Jay Perez (7of-19 for 168 yards, 3 TDs, 2 interceptions) and another manifesting itself late in the game from junior Tavon Anderson.

“We tried to move an extra guy down into the box, just to try to give us an advantage there. If you're going to beat us, we want to force you to beat us throwing,” said Feeney. “We put ourselves behind the 8-ball a few times, the turnovers, putting the ball on the ground. When that happens, it’s hard to recover. The game plan, we believed in it, but we were unable to execute it.”

Feeney also gave a shoutout to Bobcats senior running back Nate Furrow, who gashed the Golden Elks to the tune of 205 yards on just 13 carries (15.8 yards per carry).

“We’re going to have to get back to the drawing board on the tackling,” Feeney said, “but tip your cap to (Furrow). He’s a tough out.”

By halftime, Bel Air held on to a 35-0 lead after scoring twice more, triggering the running clock for nearly the entire second half.

Elkton finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter on a drive that started at its own 32-yard-line and featured senior quarterback Eli Latshaw going 3-of-4 for 45 yards – and an interception, but the returner was stripped on his way to the end zone, resulting in a fumble recovery for the Golden Elks, all of which took place on a single play. The drive was capped off by a 35-yard touchdown run by sophomore Joshua Brill.

Then, in an effort to shut off the running clock, despite it being 42-7 with a little over nine minutes to play, Brill ran it in again for the two-point conversion instead of the Golden Elks kicking the extra point.

“He’s young, he’s a sophomore, but he’s an athlete,” Feeney said of his sophomore running back, who moved back to Elkton halfway through the season. “We're just glad he's back. He brings an additional talent to our backfield.”

By the time the clock struck triple zeros, Elkton found itself down by 40 points, 48-8, after allowing 543 total yards of offense and seven total touchdowns.

This week, the Golden Elks look to get back on track when they visit the Harford Tech Cobras (4-4), while the Bobcats aim to complete an undefeated regular season when they host the Edgewood Rams (7-1).