Elkins staves off East Fairmont comeback, 21-14
ELKINS — Thomas Talkington scored three touchdowns Friday to help Elkins earn a last-minute 21-14 victory over Big 10 Conference rival East Fairmont at Wimer Stadium.
“We played old school single wing football,” EHS coach Evan Hott said. “There was a drive in the first half where we probably chewed up 7 or 8 minutes of clock. We just kept the ball moving down the field.
“Then on the final drive, we faced a lot of adversity. We went 80 yards with a new lineman in, but that’s really where our strength lies, with the older guys. They talk and communicate,” Hott said. “We just moved the ball down the field.
“Our plays were hitting. Thomas (Talkington) ran hard and our guys were blocking. Anytime (Daniel) Romans ran the ball, he just found an extra gear. He was just smoking people. The boys ran tremendously hard and the line blocked really hard. I couldn’t be more proud of a team to finish a drive like that. To put the go-ahead score up with 10 seconds left was pretty phenomenal.”
Talkington carried the ball 27 times for 144 yards and 3 TD’s. Daniel Romans chipped in 17 carries for 135 yards.
On defense, Thomas Pumphrey racked up 11 tackles for EHS.
“I thought the defense played pretty well, given the circumstances,” Hott said. “When we scouted East Fairmont’s film, they ran a lot of option and a lot of veer. Then they came out and ran a lot of I (formation). The defense responded well. They prepared the entire week for something and East Fairmont came out with something entirely different.
“I thought we played really well. We held them to zero points in the first half. There was a couple of miscommunications in the second half that led to 2 scores, but we played a lot better. I was very proud of my defensive backs. I think they really stepped up.”
Talkington put the Tigers out to a 14-0 lead at halftime on scoring jaunts of 3 yards and 15 yards. George Triplett converted both extra-point attempts.
Jaden Kuroski got the Bees on the scoreboard on a 3-yard TD run with 2:16 left in the third quarter. The Bees maintained the momentum and tied the game 14-14 with 5:07 left in the game when Kuroski hauled in a 53-yard pass from Dominick Postlethwait. The Tigers stormed back with an 80-yard drive that ended with Talkington crossing into paydirt on a 3-yard plunge with 10 seconds left on the clock. Triplett’s extra point made the final 21-14.
Elkins amassed 318 yards on the ground, along with 3 yards in the air. EHS converted 29 first downs on 58 plays.
The Bees finished the game with 301 total yards, including 120 passing and 135 rushing.
Elkins (3-1) is set to travel to face Class AA No. 2 ranked Fairmont Senior (4-1) Friday at 7 p.m.