GLEN ROSE -- Elkins took the opening possession Friday night and drove deep inside Glen Rose territory, only to have the drive end with an interception in the end zone.
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It eventually became a sign of things to come for the Elks, who suffered seven turnovers -- six of them inside Glen Rose territory -- and had their season come to an end with a 45-13 loss to the Beavers in a second-round Class 3A state playoff game.
Glen Rose 45, Elkins 13
Elkins^0^7^0^6^—^13
Glen Rose^0^28^3^14^—^45
Second quarter
Glen — Weatherford 3 run (Chavez kick), 9:00.
Glen — Hughes 69 pass from Weatherford (Chavez kick), 7:46.
Elk — Vaught 3 run (Fernandez kick), 4:02.
Glen — Thompson 14 pass from Weatherford (Chavez kick), 2:23.
Glen — Weatherford 1 run (Chavez kick), 0:17.8.
Third quarter
Glen — FG Chavez 22, 1:14.
Fourth quarter
Elk — Strode 11 run (kick fail), 11:53.
Glen — Weatherford 1 run (Chavez kick), 8:47.
Glen — Thompson 1 run (Chavez kick), 5:28.
"We just made some mistakes in the first half," Elkins coach Chad Harbison said. "Really, we had the game in control, but we hadn't turned the ball over that many times all season long.
"We knew they were really good on defense. We knew they covered very well, and if we tipped it they picked it. If we threw it in the hole, they picked it. We just didn't play very good."
The most critical mistake came after Elkins (9-3) forced a punt, and Glen Rose booted the ball that rolled inside the Elks' 15. An Elkins player then raced up and touched the ball, allowing Glen Rose to take over on its 12.
Three plays later, Beavers quarterback Aaron Weatherford scored from 3 yards out, and Alaric Chavez added the PAT to give the Beavers (11-1) a 7-0 lead with 9 minutes left in the first half.
"Our kids really stepped up," Glen Rose coach Mark Kehner said. "We knew they were going to be able to throw the ball. Our kids worked extremely hard all week to prepare for it, and broke on the ball well to make the picks.
"I think both teams played a little tight early. We got that break early in the game and got that momentum and never let go of it."
Weatherford, who accounted for five touchdowns, needed only one play to double the Beavers' lead when he hit Austin Hughes with a 69-yard touchdown pass just 74 seconds later. Elkins broke on the scoreboard with Colton Vaught's 3-yard run at the 4:02 mark, but Weatherford -- who finished with 203 yards and two touchdowns on 9 of 22 passing, as well as three rushing touchdowns -- countered with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jake Thompson and a 1-yard keeper with 18.7 seconds left to give Glen Rose a 28-7 halftime lead.
Elkins had chances to make it close in the third quarter. The Elks drove inside the Glen Rose 15 on back-to-back drives, only to give the ball away with a fumble and another interception in the end zone by Adam Day, the first of three he had in the second half.
"It was the best game for him this year, by far," Kehner said of Day. "He's got a lot of athletic ability, and he finally put it all together. It was a good time for that."
Day returned it his second interception to the Elkins 16 and set up a 22-yard field goal by Chavez in the third quarter, then he returned his final interception to the Elks 11 and set up the final score -- Thompson's 1-yard run with 5:28 remaining.
Glen Rose, the third seed from the 3A-5 Conference, advances to the quarterfinals and will travel to Rivercrest, a 14-13 winner over Junction City.
Sports on 11/19/2016