ELKINS — Defense was the name of the game on Friday night at Elkins. Field conditions helped as well as the hometown Elks defeated the visiting Mountainburg Dragons, 13-8.

Neither team was able to put any points on the board in the first quarter. In fact, Mountainburg (3-4, 2-2) ran just 8 plays for 11 total yards in the first twelve minutes.

“I thought the defense played real well all night,” Elkins coach Aaron Clark said.

Elkins (3-3, 2-2) fared a little better in the first quarter starting a drive that eventually led to a touchdown midway through the drive to give Elkins a 13-0 lead going into the locker room.

Elkins continued toshut the Dragons run game down through the first half. Mountainburg had just 36 yards of total offense in the first half led by Bradley Vaughn’s 18 yards.

“They have a good sized line and some hard running backs so it was a hard-fought win for the defense,” Clark said.

The third quarter was a near mirror image of the first where neither team was able to find the end zone.

Elkins had one missed opportunity in the quarsecond quarter.

The Elks’ third possession of the first quarter started on their own 16-yard line. Fourteen plays and 84 yards later, Weston Curry took into the end zone for the game’s first score giving Elkins a 7-0 lead with 9 minutes left in the first half.

The Elks scored their second touchdown of the quarter with less than a minute left. Quarterback Robert Teague hit Blake Bailey for a 10-yard strike capping a 14-play, 69-yard ter when Teague was interceptedat the Mountainburg 10-yard line. The interception ended a 12-play, 54-yard drive that would have put the game nearly out of reach.

The Dragons took advantage early in the fourth quarter when Zack Ross took one in from seven yards out. He then barreled the two point conversion in to get Mountainburg within five points at 13-8.

This touchdown would prove to be the last for either team as both traded possessions throughout the end of the fourth quarter.

Teague led the offense for Elkins with 137 yards passing. He was 12 for 17 with one touchdown and one interception on the night.

“He had some big throws especially in the first half,” Clark said. “He was not able to run like he has in the past, and he was flushed out of the pocket quite a bit, but he did a good job.”

The Elks will look to get a second consecutive conference victory on the road this week when they travel to Cedarville.

Sports, Pages 5 on 10/22/2009

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