On Friday Night in Fort Payne, Elkmont played an excellent game but lost to fifth rated 5A power Fort Payne, 27-7.Game Summary
1st Quarter:
On Elkmont's first play Hayden Huseth ran 52 yards. Elkmont continued to move the ball to the 15 yard line. An interception in the end zone stopped the Elkmont drive. The Red Devil defense came out well prepared and fired up and shut down Fort Payne's high powered offense the first quarter. At the end of quarter, the score was 0 - 0.
2nd Quarter:
In the second quarter, the Elkmont offense did not get a first down and Fort Payne scored a touchdown on a one yard run and added two field goals. At halftime, the score was Fort Payne 13, Elkmont 0.
3rd Quarter:
In the third quarter, Fort Payne added a two yard touchdown run to the score making it 20 - 0 at the end of the quarter.
4th Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Elkmont continued to play hard and got their passing game moving. They scored on a 15 yard touchdown pass from Hayden Huseth to Cole Glass. The Elkmont defense stopped Fort Payne and forced a punt. With 6:30 remaining in the game, Elkmont had the ball and was still in the game. Unfortunately, Elkmont could not get a first down, stopping the drive. Fort Payne added a late touchdown to make the final score 27-7.
OBSERVATIONS
The Dust Devil does not believe in moral victories, however; there is a lot of positives coming out of this game. Fort Payne finished 9-1, ranked fifth in the state and is an excellent 5A team. Elkmont was unafraid, well prepared, played hard every play and fought to the end. The defense played a great game, led by Cody Martin and Daniel Logan who played outstanding football, and showed why they are two of the best linebackers around.
The offense moved the ball at times and had chances to score twice more; maybe ran too much and didn't pass enough to keep Fort Payne honest. To beat Hanceville, Elkmont will have to diversity the offense more.
The Dust Devil listened to the Fort Payne archived radio broadcast. The announcers were very impressed with Elkmont and could not believe the Red Devils were only a fourth seed. They also said that the Elkmont defense hit as hard or harder than anyone they had played all year. This was a great preparation game for going into the playoffs.
PREDICTION
The coaches and players believe that they are going to beat Hanceville. Hanceville is 10 - 0, ranked third in the state and have been beating teams badly, rolling up tons of rushing yards and points. If you are a Red Devil fan or like good high school football, you should not miss this game. Elkmont is going to win 24-21 in a big upset.
