FAYETTEVILLE — Traveling to Lavaca, a semifinalist in last year's Class 3A playoffs, was a tough enough task for Elkins in Friday's 1-3A Conference opener.
Mistakes in the kicking game made the job even harder. Elkins trailed 14-0 before its offensive had run a play in the 35-6 mercyrule defeat at Lavaca.
The Golden Arrows (2-2, 1-0) scored on the opening drive of the game. An Elkins fumble on the ensuing kickoff set up the secondLavaca touchdown, putting them ahead 14-0 in the first quarter.
Elkins' offensive put together a couple of first downs before a failed thirddown conversion put it in a fourth-and-short situation in its own territory. The Elks (1-2, 0-1) eschewed a punt for a failed fourth-down conversion that gave Lavaca possession on Elkins' side of the field.
The Golden Arrows parlayed the short field into another score that gave them a 20-0 lead. The margin grew to 28-0 after a short Lavaca kickoff caught theElks' return team unawares. Elkins didn't field the kick, and Lavaca pounced on the loose ball, leading to the Golden Arrows' fourth touchdown. By halftime, Elkins trailed 35-0.
Deprived of possession, Elkins was limited to 148 yards of total offense.
"[Lavaca] ate up a bunch of time in the first quarter," said Aaron Clark, Elkins head coach. "We hadn't run a play, and it was already 14-0.
"That's why our totals were so low. We didn't havetoo many opportunities with the ball."
With a 26-man roster, any injury is a grievous blow to Elkins. Injuries to key players are even more damaging. Friday night the Elkswere without senior running back Hunter Guffey, who injured his elbow last week against Huntsville.
Guffey is an impact player in all three phases for Elkins. In addition to running the ball and flanking out wide as a receiver, he also fields kicks and starts in the defensive backfield. A deep thighbruise idled junior quarterback Robert Teague, who also starts in the Elk secondary.
"Hopefully, those guys will be back next week for the Lincoln (1-3, 0-1) game," Clark said. "They're good skill players on offense, but they're also helpful in our secondary."
The injury Teague suffered last week against Huntsville pressed sophomore Mac Leichner into service. Friday night was his first varsity start at quarterback, and Clark said he performed admirably considering the circumstances.
Leichner completed what looked like a touchdown pass in the back ofthe Lavaca end zone, but the receiver was ruled out of bounds.
"He played most of the series in the second half against Huntsville," Clark said. "He got his feet wet and did a pretty good job. I like the way he ran our offense."
After scoring 42 points in the season-openingwin at Pea Ridge, Elkins' offensive has been limited to 14 total points in its last two games. The Elks offensive will try to get back on track next week against Lincoln. The Wolves' Week 1 win ended a 31-game winless streak, but they've lost threestraight games since the watershed victory.
Sports, Pages 10, 8 on 09/27/2009